Meeting of the Parliament 26 October 2017
I declare an interest as a 100 per cent shareholder in Water Distribution and Energy Services Ltd, which, although registered, is not trading.
I welcome this Government debate on Scotland becoming a hydro nation, which is a strategy that was first launched in 2012. If any members have read Fred Pearce’s book, “When the Rivers Run Dry: What Happens When Our Water Runs Out?”, they will appreciate what a precious resource water—especially our Scottish water—is in a world that is rapidly warming due to climate change, and where potable water is a declining world resource, as Stewart Stevenson said.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, late of this Parliament, warned in a previous debate of future wars being caused by drought and lack of usable water. Although, living in Scotland, we take the resource for granted, significant water shortages have already occurred in Europe, notably in Spain and Cyprus, and north African and middle eastern countries are also daily becoming more arid.
I therefore welcome the Scottish Government’s intention to develop Scotland’s hydro economy sustainably in order to maximise the economic benefit of our water resources. I also support the aspiration to raise our international profile as a leader in water management and governance.
In addition, I note the intention to develop a water research centre, and suggest that it could, ideally, be located in Ayrshire, and preferably in my constituency, given the abundance of water and rainfall in our area—more of which later. [Laughter.]
Without doubt, with the world’s population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, with climate change now happening in front of our eyes, with temperature rises taking place and sea-level rises also becoming a reality, the need to manage fresh water more carefully has never been greater, in terms not only of direct human consumption but of food production.
Many members know that the issue is dear to my heart—again, I declare an interest as a food producer—but we should recognise the enormous resource that we have in Scotland in terms of available fresh water. Of course, identifying a resource, and harnessing and exploiting it, are two different things.
For example, we have, as Maree Todd mentioned, an enormous resource in wave energy and in tidal energy, which we have not yet been able to access or harness significantly. Fresh water, although it is more manageable, has not yet been fully appreciated or recognised in Scotland for the resource that it will become in the future.
That is why I am a supporter of Scottish Water, and especially of Scottish Water Horizons. Scottish Water has become one of the Scottish Parliament’s success stories. It was first set up under Ross Finnie’s leadership, and Scottish Water’s success and the sensible use of taxpayer’s money have, in large part, put Scotland in the position of being able to aspire to becoming a hydro nation, as well as creating Scottish Water International.
Of course, more remains to be done on further improving water quality and river-basin management, as well as flood risk management. It would be remiss of me not to mention the flooding issues in Prestwick, in my constituency, which I have been raising in Parliament for many years now. Although other countries suffer from a lack of rain, part of Prestwick floods because the local drainage and sewerage system is unable to cope with the volumes of water and sewage that are now being delivered into the system. The system lacks the capacity to adequately deal with higher rainfall events.
At the risk of sounding like a stuck record on the subject, which is of great concern to my Prestwick constituents, I again ask the Government to fund Scottish Water to rectify the problem of external sewer flooding in my constituency and elsewhere. It is a request that I first made to Roseanna Cunningham in September 2010, according to the Scottish Parliament information centre, and it is a request that one of my constituents raised very recently with her at the Scottish National Party conference, I believe.
I welcome the debate and look forward to Scotland developing as a hydro nation.
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