Scottish Water staff are battling against the elements across the length and breadth of the country and working around the clock in the challenging weather conditions.

The water company is dealing with heavy snow and temperatures as low as -17C while it strives to keep water supplies to customers running and the waste water network operating normally.

The number of burst water main repairs carried out in the past week in large and small communities across the country has doubled compared with normal levels at this time of year - they have repaired more than 340 bursts.

Engineers worked in sub-zero temperatures to restore supplies to about 29,000 properties in the East End of Glasgow on Wednesday after a burst on a 36 inch trunk water main in Gallowgate.

At Kinlochbervie in Sutherland, a team of divers worked in the freezing waters of the local reservoir, Loch na Claise Carnaich, to clear an intake of ice and bring the local water treatment works, which serves almost 200 properties in the area, back into production on Tuesday.

In some parts of the country where bursts on water mains or pipes have occurred, or intake pipes at reservoirs have become frozen, the utility has tankered water into the local networks to ensure customers’ supplies are not disrupted.

Scottish Water teams have been out breaking ice at intakes in other areas such as the Western Isles, Skye and Lochaber and, where the ice has been too thick to break, using tankers to bring additional water in and maintain normal supplies.

In parts of the country where burst water mains have threatened normal supplies, the water company has also rezoned the local networks and put backfeeds in place to avoid any disruption or inconvenience to customers.

Scottish Water’s work has often been carried out in very poor conditions with heavy snow sometimes making it difficult to locate bursts. The heavy snowfall has also created challenging issues for accessing a number of water treatment works, some in very remote locations – the water company has had to employ contractors to clear access roads.

Kes Juskowiak, Scottish Water’s Water Operations General Manager, said:

“Like all essential public service providers, the weather is certainly making our job more difficult but we are doing absolutely everything possible to ensure normal supplies are maintained wherever we can.

“We are experiencing a number of very challenging circumstances but Scottish Water is rising to those challenges and our dedicated and determined staff are using all the resources, equipment and technology available to ensure that, wherever possible, it’s business-as-usual for our customers.”