The source of the leak affecting Benbecula and the northern part of South Uist was traced on Wednesday to a generator that provides a back-up power supply to a pumping station at Loch Eilean Iain, Scottish Water said. Work is currently under way to flush the network. Teams worked through the night to distribute bottled water and information to more than 1,000 homes and businesses. The utilities company is advising customers served by Benbecula Water Treatment Works not to drink, wash or cook using tap water from the supply. This includes stopping the use of boiled water from there.
The water quality warning has led to the closure of a number of schools, Lionacleit Sports Centre and Lionacleit Library. Western Isles Council said arrangements for Friday will be “confirmed in due course”. Pop-up water tanks are currently being used at Balivanich Community Hall, Old Balivanich School, Liniclate Community School and at 6 Dun Mor in West Gerinish.
Water taken from the tanks must be boiled before use and should be used within 48 hours. A spokesperson for Scottish Water said: “We have mobilised a full incident response team in order to support our customers and restore normal service via the water network as soon as we can be confident that the islands’ drinking water is meeting its normal high standard. “We would like to acknowledge the enormous assistance we have already had from our island-based contractors, our other emergency response partners and the local community.
“Additional specialist resources have been brought on to the island and further Scottish Water staff and contractors will arrive today.” The bottled water supplies and pop-up water tanks will continue to be maintained and replenished. The spokesperson added: “We would like to apologise to customers for the significant inconvenience that we know the need for these measures will be causing. “Our focus is on providing as much support as we can, while we work to restore normal service as soon as it is safe to do so.” A full list of the affected postcodes can be found on the Scottish Water website.
Source: SKY NEWS
