An ambitious new Vision for the water sector in Scotland has been unveiled which will be at the heart of Scottish Water’s future strategy.

For the first time Scottish Water, the Water Industry in Scotland, the Customer Forum, Citizen's Advice Scotland, The Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Drinking Water Quality Regulator will work together in a shared vision. .

The Vision says that the sector will be “admired for excellence, secure a sustainable future and inspire a Hydro Nation”.

This is the first time a common Vision has been owned by all sector stakeholders and marks a new collaborative way of working between Scottish Water, its regulators and others.

It follows a call from Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform for the water industry to create a common understanding of what the sector should seek to achieve over the next three decades.

It is the first time all sector stakeholders have owned a common vision and marks a new collaborative way of working between Scottish Water, its regulators and others.

Simon Parson, Scottish Water’s Director of Strategic Customer Service Planning commented:

“This is a big change. It’s the first time this has ever happened. We could not have got there without the approach taken by all sector stakeholders”.

The Vision states:

“Scotland's water sector will be admired for excellence, secure a sustainable future and inspire a Hydro Nation.

Together we will support the health and wellbeing of the nation. We will ensure that all of Scotland gets excellent quality drinking water that people can enjoy all of the time. Scotland's waste water will be collected, treated and recycled in ways that generate value and protect the environment. We will enable the economy to prosper.

We will transform how we work to live within the means of our planet's resources, enhance the natural environment and maximise our positive contribution to Scotland achieving net zero emissions.

We will be agile and collaborate within the sector and with others to be resilient to the challenges which will face us.

We will keep services affordable by innovating and delivering the greatest possible value from our resources, helping those who need it most. We will serve all customers and communities in a way that is fair and equitable to present and future generations.”