Monster project secures sustainable water supply for Loch Ness communities

“The most important goal of our project is to leave our local team, and the customers we serve, with new infrastructure that will stand the test of time and deliver excellent service for decades to come.”

Paul Sexton
Scottish Water’s General Manager for Capital Investment Alliances

Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Kate Forbes has officially opened a new Water Treatment Works at Invermoriston, on the banks of Loch Ness.

The local MSP was joined by members of the communities of Fort Augustus and Glenmoriston on Friday, together with Scottish Water and its main supply chain partners, to celebrate the completion of a ‘monster’ project to transform the area’s water supply.

Spanning the pandemic, a state-of-the-art single Water Treatment Works has been built to replace two smaller WTWs. The new plant uses nanofiltration membranes to produce up to 1 million litres of world class drinking water every day, drawn from the largest body of freshwater in Scotland.

A much more extensive overhaul of the two Great Glen communities’ drinking water infrastructure has been delivered by Scottish Water’s capital investment delivery partner ESD in recent years, with the new WTW at its heart being supplied by RSE (Ross-shire Engineering).

Kate Forbes MSP, who visited Invermoriston’s new WTW during its original factory assembly at RSE’s Water Technologies Centre in Muir of Ord said: “It is a huge pleasure to mark the completion of this impressive investment – an example of twenty-first century engineering, made in the Highlands to serve the future of Highland communities.

“The investment that has been made secures a sustainable year-round water supply for rural communities in the Great Glen and their thriving economy. At the same time as making use of the area’s most famous natural asset, the work has been supporting high quality jobs and exciting training opportunities less than an hour’s drive away in Muir of Ord.

“The innovative modular construction methods and engineering skills exemplified by this project are of interest not just across Scotland, but beyond.”

The new WTW is supplied by a new intake and pumping station near the site of the old Invermoriston Pier. Around 10km of new pumped water mains were laid along the route of the Great Glen Way, connecting new and expanded drinking water storage tanks that serve each community. Specialist contractors also completed a challenging two-part operation to tunnel beneath the Caledonian Canal and drill beneath the River Oich in order to provide a secure connection from one side of Fort Augustus to the other. Finally, work was carried out to allow water to reach elevated homes between the village and its old Water Treatment Works near Loch Tarff.

ESD’s Chief Operating Officer Wendy Cooper said: “The scale and complexity of the project to give Fort Augustus and Glenmoriston a single, improved water supply for the future has always been striking.

“Along the way, our team has had to deal with everything from the challenging ground conditions beneath a 200-year-old wonder of water engineering to a global pandemic.

“The common factor in every stage and every challenge has been the strength of our working relationship with our partners – the local community, landowners and our supply chain. Where we have encountered difficulties, we have been able to work together to find solutions. The outcome is one that everyone who has played a part should feel proud of."

Before the project’s delivery, drinking water for both Fort Augustus and Glenmoriston had to be regularly supplemented during the summer using road tankers. The water network in Fort Augustus relied upon a single canal crossing that was vulnerable to damage and difficult to repair.

Scottish Water’s General Manager for Capital Investment Alliances Paul Sexton said: “The most important goal of our project is to leave our local team, and the customers we serve, with new infrastructure that will stand the test of time and deliver excellent service for decades to come.

“The draw of Loch Ness is a key factor in the high seasonal demand for water, which was previously a significant challenge for our teams each summer. Loch Ness is now providing a much more sustainable supply to meet the needs of residents, visitors and the wider economy all year round.

“We are hugely grateful for the critical role that the local community and a wide range of partners have played in the project’s story. It’s a real pleasure to have been able to bring some of those people together to celebrate its outcome.”

As well as the new major infrastructure bringing clear, fresh drinking water to their own taps, residents and visitors to Fort Augustus will soon be able to make use of a new Scottish Water Top up Tap which is proposed for the village. The outdoor tap will add to a growing network of over 100 refill points across Scotland, including 3 already along the route of the Great Glen Way at Ness Walk in Inverness, the Loch Ness Hub in Drumnadrochit and Gordon Square in Fort William.