Residents of the Perthshire village of Killin remain under water restrictions following a fuel spill into the River Dochart, first reported on February 20. Scottish Water says it is working “at pace” to restore normal supplies, but the message to locals has not changed: do not use tap water for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, or feeding pets.
The local water treatment works was shut down as a precaution after the spill, and teams have been running extensive flushing operations through the network to ensure no contamination enters the supply. Chief Operating Officer Peter Farrer explained: “The vast amount of pipework feeds into all of the houses in the community, so flushing makes sure there are no traces of any fuel before we lift the restriction and allow people to go back to drinking and cooking with their tap water.”
There is some progress. Killin residents can now use tap water for bathing, washing dishes, and cleaning clothes after test results showed it was suitable for general household use. But the restriction on drinking and cooking remains, and for a small rural community without easy access to alternatives, that is a significant inconvenience.
Scottish Water says teams are continuing to monitor samples from across the network, including the primary school and care home. The priority sites make sense, but every household in the village is affected, and the longer the restriction continues, the greater the impact on daily life in a community that is not exactly overflowing with resources to begin with.