WATER levels in East Lothian's public supply reservoirs are significantly below last year's levels.
According to Scottish Water, which owns and operates the site, Hopes Reservoir in the Lammermuir Hills is sitting at 57 per cent capacity compared to the same time last year, when it was 94 per cent full.
The water reserve at Hopes is down 36 per cent from its average level of 93 per cent full.
Similarly, Whiteadder Reservoir is currently 66 per cent full, representing a 29 per cent drop in level from last year.
Hopes Reservoir. Image: David Gray
This comes alongside water level warnings by SEPA and Scottish Water urging people and businesses to be cautious when using water supplies due to the dry weather parts of Scotland have experienced through the past winter, spring and summer months.
Scottish Water has also reported a demand increase by 100 million litres per day across Scotland as a whole: the equivalent to the standard supply to Dundee and Tayside.
A plea for people to be more conscious of their household water usage has been issued but currently there are no plans for a hosepipe ban to come into place.
A spokesperson for Scottish Water said: "Scottish Water is not considering any water restrictions on the public water supply at the moment.
"What we have issued is not so much a warning as a call for customers to think carefully about how they use what is a precious resource and help Scottish Water to maintain normal supplies now and in the future.
"Short spells of light rain will not undo the harm caused by record low levels of rain over many months. This is why, despite people perhaps assuming that water is abundant in Scotland, we need customers to help by saving water, reducing their usage, reassessing their relationship with water and treating it like the precious natural resource is it now and in the future."
Residents in the east of Scotland are being asked to use water efficiently in the garden and outdoor spaces, take shorter showers, turn off the tap when brushing teeth, keep atop of household water leaks, and use washing machines and dishwashers when fully loaded.
The changing climate means current methods to maintain normal supplies include tankering water into areas of need or looking to alternative sources.
In the longer term, Scottish Water has developed a climate change adaptation plan to reduce the risk of extreme weather conditions such as flood and drought to protect Scottish water reserves.
A spokesperson for Scottish Water added: "Scottish Water will certainly need to upgrade its infrastructure in the years to come but we can't build our way out of this and that's why we need a collective effort from everyone."
Share