Water system gets £25m cash boost

Scottish Water said it hoped more people would drink from the tap

Scottish Water has laid out plans to spend £25m on improving the quality of drinking water in the Borders.

The company is embarking on three major projects which it said would benefit around three quarters of residents in the area.

The bulk of the cash, almost £15m, will be spent in the Hawick area.

About £10m will be invested in upgrading treatment works at Howden, which serve Selkirk, Melrose, Earlston, Lauder and parts of Galashiels.

Another £700,000 is being spent to prevent waste being discharged into the environment at Rawburn in Berwickshire.

'Huge benefits'

Scottish Water's Eric Cockburn said: "The money's been invested there so we can close down the old filter station and the treatment works as well.

"We are going to transfer the water and treat it all at Roberton now and put it back into the Roxburghshire area from there.

"So there's going to be huge benefits for the people of Hawick and the people of Roxburghshire, primarily improving the water quality and sustaining that higher level of quality through that supply area."

Regional manager Craig Lawson said Scottish Water hoped the investment would encourage more people to drink tap water.

"As far as we're concerned the quality has proven to be better than bottled water," he said.

"Also, there's no plastic bottles that you need to throw away, causing problems for the environment."