First phase of £113 million water mains upgrade completed

Scottish Water has completed the first phase of a major pipe upgrade stretching more than 2,600 miles.

When completed, the £113 million programme Scotland’s biggest-ever water mains renewal project will have covered a distance equivalent to that from Edinburgh to Mali.

The scheme started two years ago and has so far seen about 1,800 miles of pipes upgraded to meet strict water quality standards.

Scottish Water said its teams had been tested by “difficult environments and unusual discoveries” including the unearthing of a 3,000-year-old Beaker burial ground in Duns in the Borders.

Workers also had the challenge of negotiating the Rocks of Solitude ravine by Edzell, Angus.

Water quality in Scotland is at its highest ever level, according to Scottish Water, which says 99.88% of supplies met the required standards in 2011.