Rise in solo living 'putting strain on supplies of water'

SCOTTISH Water has said an increase in single people living alone in Scotland is putting additional pressure on the country's supplies.

- By Douglas Dickie

The statutory body has set out its plan to help protect the country's water over the next 25 years.

It comes after the driest start to a year since 1964 with some parts of the country going over a month without a single drop of rain until this weekend.

The plan highlights three main challenges facing the water infrastructure.

As well as an increase in extreme weather such as drought, storms and floods, bosses say shifting population trends are also a factor.

This includes more people moving from the wetter west of Scotland to the east, as well as an “increase in single-person households”.