Chamber and committees

I am publishing today a consultation paper: The Future for Scotland's Waters: Proposals for Legislation. I am placing copies in the Parliament's Reference Centre. I am also placing an analysis of the responses to our first consultation paper, Rivers, Lochs, Coasts: The Future for Scotland's Waters (Bib. number 14576), published in June last year, on the Scottish Executive website and in the Parliament's Reference Centre.The consultation paper makes proposals for the water environment provisions of the Water Environment and Water Services Bill and lays the foundation for a modernised approach to protecting and enhancing Scotland's waters. The need to involve, take account of and balance all interests will be a cornerstone of this new approach. We need to hear the views of all those with an interest if we are to get the bill right for Scotland. We started the debate when we published Rivers, Lochs, Coasts. This paper is another significant step along the road to the bill.

I have asked Graeme Munro, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to answer. His response is as follows: Action to protect listed structures, such as those parts of Craigmaddie and Mugdock Reservoirs, may be taken under powers set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997. Such action is, in the first place, the responsibility of the relevant planning authority, in this case East Dunbartonshire Council. I understand that the proposals affecting Craigmaddie and Mugdock Reservoirs are still under active consideration by East Dunbartonshire Council.

This is a matter for West of Scotland Water. The Chief Executive's response is:(a) Energy consumption is one of many environmental criteria considered in the selection of the preferred option for the Katrine Water Project. Question S1W-22092 (answered on 4 February 2002) sets out the methodology used to consider all environmental criteria.The preferred option, like many other options considered, uses available treatment capacity at Balmore Water Treatment Works (WTW). In so doing these options significantly reduce the overall energy consumption of the Loch Lomond Water Supply Scheme from current levels. Present predictions indicate that this benefit could offer a potential annual saving in the order of 8.5 kWh from current energy levels in the Lomond Scheme if 100 Ml/d is transferred to Balmore WTW from Katrine aqueducts.For all those options considered that use available treatment capacity within Balmore, the total energy consumption ranged between 14.5 million kWh/annum and 23.8 million kWh/annum (based on estimated average water consumption). The energy consumption for the preferred option is estimated as 19.7 million kWh/annum) which lies in the mid-range of options.Using government figures¹ the following annual CO₂ consumption equivalents are calculated;

Energy consumption of Options (using Balmore):	6,000 tonne to 10 000 tonne2
Energy consumption of Preferred Option:	8,000 tonne2

Notes:1. Conversion factors of 0.43 kgCO2/kWh, DETR/DEFRA publication Guidelines on Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions.2. Rounded to nearest 1000 tonne.(b) Pumping and pipework elements formed an integral part of all options considered for the Katrine Water project. In relation to maintenance of pumping infrastructure and other pipework, the preferred option compares favourably in a number of areas with other options considered (e.g. number of pump installations, integration with existing infrastructure, pipe pressures, network pressure stabilisation etc.). A descriptive summary of how the pumping and pipework maintenance requirements of the preferred option relate to the short-listed options can be found in appraisal Table D9.2 of the Environmental Statement for the project which may be viewed at the planning offices of East Dunbartonshire Council. This information is also presented in Table B2 of the advance extracts of the Environmental Statement which were distributed at a public meeting of the 26 September.

This is a matter for West of Scotland Water. The Chief Executive's response is:The criteria used to short list the potential development areas for the Katrine Water Project are detailed in Table D6.2 of the Environmental Statement for the project, together with the primary observations made under each criteria against each area. The criteria can be grouped under three main headings:Economics: The total comparative cost of developing a scheme around a potential development area, including capital and operating costs for the lifetime of the works. Environment: Impacts on people, the natural and cultural heritage and energy use.Engineering: The anticipated ground conditions, available land, topography, local services and service corridor for connection of infrastructure.As described in appendix D6.1 of the Environmental Statement for the project the study area extends from 2.5 miles West of Milngavie to Balmore WTW 5 km East of Milngavie. The study area naturally derived itself from consideration of several fundamental criteria, namely; location of raw water supply (i.e. existing Milngavie raw water reservoirs), location of water distribution infrastructure (i.e. existing Milngavie Water Treatment Works and existing Glasgow bulk water supply pipework) and the elevation relative to Milngavie reservoirs. In addition, other considerations included use of existing assets (i.e. existing Balmore Water Treatment Works), land ownership, current land use and land character. On this basis no significant economic, environmental or engineering benefit was identified in extending the study area beyond that considered.

This is a matter for West of Scotland Water. The Chief Executive's response is:For each potential development area, a number of scheme options exist around the treatment plant and associated works. These options include, inter alia, various configurations of treatment works size and treatment process, connecting pipework, storage reservoir provision and pump installations.For the 16 potential development areas considered, 190 possible options were costed on a comparative basis*. The range of comparative costs, as identified in Table D6.1 of the Environmental Statement, including capital and operating costs over the lifetime of the works, ranges between £85 million and £130 million.* It should be noted that it is normal practice in the consideration of alternatives to consider comparative costs and not absolute costs.

This is a matter for West of Scotland Water Authority. The Chief Executive's response is as follows:Annual energy usage and resultant carbon dioxide emissions were considered for all options as part of the option appraisal and selection process. The relative performance of each option was considered along with all the other criteria during the Value Management workshops; this criterion is one of many already discussed in the answers given to questions S1W-22086 and S1W-22092 on 4 February 2002.

This is a matter for West of Scotland Water Authority. The Chief Executive's response is as follows:West of Scotland Water commissioned an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Katrine Water Project. This was undertaken by Environmental Resources Management (ERM), an internationally respected environmental consultancy.ERM followed the good practice guidance of the Scottish Executive (1999) Planning Advice Note 58 and Scottish Executive Circular 15/99. In cases where guidance was unavailable, ERM's considerable internal experience was utilised.Performance across a range of environmental, technical and financial criteria was assessed to identify the best overall options for the project at the Value Management workshops. The environmental team was represented at all of these workshops. The process is described in Chapter 2 and in Annex D of the Environmental Statement submitted with the Planning Application.

This is a matter for West of Scotland Water Authority. The Chief Executive's response is as follows:Water management practices have been changed within the Loch Katrine catchments. Loch Arklet and Glen Finglas are only used when possible contamination risk is low. Water is drawn from these lochs when cryptosporidium levels are below 0.03 oocysts per 10 litres for seven consecutive days.Recommended farm management improvements within Loch Katrine and Loch Arklet direct catchments have been implemented. These have been audited by the Scottish Agricultural College. Since then, however, the authority has taken the decision to remove sheep from the Loch Katrine catchment as a precautionary public health measure to minimise the risk of possible contamination of water supplies by animals. The operation of the new water treatment works at Milngavie will ensure the removal of the cryptosporidium bacteria. Recommendations made by the Scottish Agricultural College relating to the aqueducts would involve changes in farming practices in the area and we are in contact with the relevant landowners.

This is a matter for West of Scotland Water Authority. The Chief Executive's response is as follows:A large number of different criteria were used to consider all of the selected sites. For each criterion, the sites were measured or assessed so that they could be ranked in order of preference. The option appraisal information was used in a series of Value Management workshops to present complex information in a manageable form. Decisions were made by comparing options, identifying key trade-offs and reaching consensus on the preferred options through discussion and debate between the different disciplines in the project team (engineering, environmental, construction, operations, finance). When trying to balance the different criteria there is no analytical matrix which can simplify the site selection process. Annex D of the Environmental Statement submitted with the Planning Application for the project notes: "for a project of this complexity, with its many different components and different, often conflicting, criteria, it would be difficult if not impossible to develop a robust, numerical, multi-criteria decision method which would meet the rigorous standards required". Accordingly, a variety of tools including simple ranking, rating, scoring and weighting, trade-off graphs and pair-wise comparisons were utilised to compare options and allow overall ranking of options.

This is a matter for West of Scotland Water Authority. The Chief Executive's response is as follows:West of Scotland Water has been extremely proactive in its liaison with the local community regarding the Katrine Water Project - both in the consultations which have been crucial to the whole option selection process, and in the preparatory work which is proceeding ahead of the construction works. Consultation and communications activities have included a series of briefing meetings with local community organisations and groups, a series of public meetings (comprising presentations and question and answer sessions), the use of a mobile information unit sited within the community (which attracted over 3,000 visitors), the provision of regular press releases to local press and use of local press advertisements. A Community Forum comprising representatives of community councils and local interest groups has also been established to further involve the community and this recently held its inaugural meeting.