Scottish Water's distinctive blue Top Up Taps are helping people in the Highlands and Moray cut down on single-use plastic bottles
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A network of hi-tech public water taps has helped Scotland save the equivalent of five million plastic bottles, according to Scottish Water.
The utility firm has more than 100 Top Up Taps across the country, including at Aviemore, Nairn, Inverness, Elgin, Lossiemouth, Drumnadrochit and Forres,
It recently installed its 100th Top Up Tap in the shadow of the Kelpies in Falkirk.
The Top Up Taps initiative has led to a 19 per cent increase in people carrying a refillable bottle, according to Scottish Water, and there are more taps planned in new locations.
It says providing fresh, clear water straight from the tap is vitally important, since staying well-hydrated is essential to health and wellbeing.
Kes Juskowiak, Scottish Water’s general manager of customer water services, said: “It’s brilliant that so many locals and visitors alike are using our Top Up Taps in such numbers.
“But nothing would make us happier than seeing them used even more! There couldn’t be many better reasons for carrying a refillable water bottle and topping up regularly – it’s good for your health, good for your pocket and good for the planet.”
The scientific and medical evidence is clear and overwhelming – drinking plenty of water is good for our minds and bodies. Scottish Water wants everyone to have easy access to a drop of the clear stuff whenever they need it.
Brain cells need a delicate balance of water and electrolytes to function. So, when we’re dehydrated our ability to think clearly is affected.
In fact, scientists say that even a one to two per cent decline in hydration can adversely affect a person’s concentration, ability to learn, critical thinking, memory, motivation and mood.
It’s a similar picture when it comes to physical performance – whether you take gentle exercise or train like an elite athlete, your body needs water to regulate your temperature and keep blood flowing to your muscles.
However, there are a host of other reasons for topping up from the tap, not least that it can help save the costs of buying bottled water and prevent single-use plastic from ending up in landfill, littering our streets or in our oceans.
All of which means the country’s fantastic value drinking water is not only good for your pocket – it’s also good for the planet.
Behind the scenes, an army of Scottish Water staff work hard every day to keep water flowing to our taps – 1.51 billion litres of clear, fresh drinking water every day, to be precise.
Drinking water starts out in a network of 300-plus reservoirs. Not only do they serve clear, fresh water to the people of Scotland, they are becoming popular picnic spots and walking areas.
There are more than 30,000 miles of fresh water pipes under the streets and land in Scotland. This network brings the water for your shower, morning cuppa and teeth brushing – and of course it supplies the growing network of Top Up Taps.
Scottish Water has even created a dedicated website featuring an interactive map where customers can find the Top Up Taps closest to them, or where to fill up their water bottles during day trips across the country.
It couldn’t be easier to use, just visit www.YourWaterYourLife.co.uk/TapMap and search by putting in any postcode or viewing a complete list of the Top Up Taps across Scotland.
Kes Juskowiak added: “Water is our most precious natural resource and we want the people of Scotland and visitors to have access whenever they need it.”
