I regard investment in improving our environment and Scotland’s water industry as extremely important. But such investment will only be sustainable in the longer term if customers are prepared to pay for the cost of these improvements in their water and sewerage bills. In my view there are three principal factors, which should help to ensure that there remains a consensus about the need to invest in improving Scotland’s water industry. Firstly, bills should not increase at more than the rate of inflation or growth in average incomes (whichever is the lower); second, there needs to be high degree of certainty that the investment financed by customers will result in the desired outcome; and thirdly, investments should be prioritised using transparent cost and benefit criteria.
In the case of the proposed investment at Loch Ryan, I have seen no evidence, which suggests that the proposed investment will result in the loch complying with the Shellfish Waters Directive. Indeed, it is likely that spills from the sewerage system around Loch Ryan, agricultural run-off and poor quality discharges from septic tanks could combine to ensure that the Shellfish Water standards are not met. The UK would then remain open to infraction proceedings, but some £30 million of customers’ money will have been spent. And is it really worth the cost, when the local community will face substantial disruption and there will be a marked increase in Scottish Water’s carbon emissions just because there is a very small oyster fishery locally?