Scottish Water volunteers spruce up Dalwhinnie war memorial

“It has been a good reminder of what keeping our communities at the heart of our business can mean, and has given us another opportunity to discuss the progress of our project in Dalwhinnie. So thanks to the community for their support and understanding, and I’m glad to see they were very happy with the result.”

Amando Borge Izquierdo
Scottish Water’s Project Manager

DALWHINNIE’S war memorial has been cleaned ahead of Armistice Day by Scottish Water volunteers.

The publicly-owned water company is investing in local essential infrastructure with the replacement of the existing water treatment works, with a plant which has the capacity to produce up to 160,000 litres of drinking water a day, as well as installing a new tank to store up to 200,000 litres of drinking water. The project is being delivered by Ross-shire Engineering (RSE) on behalf of Scottish Water.

Scottish Water runs a volunteering programme which sees staff able to volunteer two days per year and the project team, with members of the Armed Forces network within the company, were joined by contractors RSE and members of the local community to ensure the war memorial was looking its best ahead of Remembrance ceremonies later this month.

The clean-up included vegetation removal at the memorial, and the group had intended to sand and paint the benches however adverse weather hampered the latter part of this plan. Materials have been donated to the community to allow this work to be carried out at a later date.

Scottish Water’s Project Manager, Amando Borge Izquierdo, said: “It has been a good reminder of what keeping our communities at the heart of our business can mean, and has given us another opportunity to discuss the progress of our project in Dalwhinnie. So thanks to the community for their support and understanding, and I’m glad to see they were very happy with the result.”

Ross-shire Engineering’s Project Manager, Chris Mearns, said: “Having been working in Dalwhinnie for quite a while undertaking the water treatment works upgrade, we were delighted to have the opportunity do something for the community and assist in giving the memorial a good clean up.”

Chair of Highland Council’s Communities and Place Committee, Cllr Graham MacKenzie, said: “We are delighted with the work Scottish Water’s team of volunteers has committed to this project and the community deserves tremendous praise. Their hard work in challenging weather conditions is truly commendable. 

“The Council is proud to have played its part in helping Scottish Water deliver this fantastic project, which will benefit communities and visitors alike.”

Chair of Dalwhinnie’s Community Council, Jen Dickinson, said: “Dalwhinnie community are very grateful for all the efforts, time and energy the volunteers gave last Friday. A huge thank you to Amando and the team of volunteers; it was a great effort to clear the vegetation and very much appreciated. There are many comments of support on the community social page to reflect the community's thanks and we hope they realise their efforts are very much appreciated. 

“There were two members from our community involved on Friday, one a veteran of the Royal Marines who then led a smaller team to carry on with the works. This included removing more vegetation and continued stonework improvement to the Quartz rocks etc.  

“The motivation of Scottish Water and RSE really helped to revive the memorial area and we will work on the benches in spring once they have had time to dry out a little. 

“We are very grateful for all their help, thank you again.”