This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Improvements to drinking water supplies
20/04/2006
New regulations to improve drinking water quality and protect human health have been laid before Parliament today.
The Private Water Supplies Regulations incorporate the latest safety advances to protect and improve water quality for those dependent on private supplies.
They will also help boost public confidence and deliver health improvements by introducing risk assessments to provide better year round protection and lessen the risk of drinking contaminated water.
Deputy Environment and Rural Development Minister Rhona Brankin said:
"Around 150, 000 people in remote parts of Scotland rely on private water sources to provide them with drinking water. Tens of thousands of other Scots and visitors also use them. We must ensure that they are all doing so safely.
"These regulations will help us do that by providing clean, safe drinking water from source to tap which will safeguard the wellbeing of Scotland's people.
"Alongside the new standards, I am putting in place a grant scheme which will help people invest in new equipment to improve their private water supply. This scheme will offer users of private water supplies up to eight hundred pounds to meet some of the costs of bringing their water supply up to modern standards."