Award-Winning Engineering: Scottish Water’s Craigmaddie Reservoir Project Recognised at 2025 Scottish Civil Engineering Awards

Scottish Water is proud to announce it has won an award at this year’s Scottish Civil Engineering Awards, recognised as the highest honour for engineering excellence in the built environment.

The awards ceremony, hosted by radio and TV presenter Arlene Stuart at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC), celebrated the innovation and dedication of Scotland’s engineering community in front of 250 guests.

Scottish Water received the award for its Craigmaddie Reservoir improvement project, delivered by contractor George Leslie Ltd. 

This £4.7 million series of interconnected projects has restored a vital 19th-century community asset, enhancing the environment, improving public access and safeguarding water quality for generations to come.

The Craigmaddie and neighbouring Mugdock reservoirs store drinking water for more than 700,000 people across Greater Glasgow and attract over 160,000 visitors every year. 

The programme included a like-for-like replacement of the historic 21.9-metre-long valve tower bridge using modern materials to extend its lifespan for another 100 years, alongside the creation of safer and more accessible footpaths built using sustainable materials. 

More than 7000 cubic metres of silt was removed from the “Dirty-Dam” after 150 years of build-up, improving service and natural habitats while protecting the downstream watercourses. The silt was removed was enough to fill nearly three Olympic swimming pools.

Finally, over 4,000 trees, shrubs and flowers were planted to boost biodiversity and enrich the visitor experience.

The project demonstrates how civil engineering can combine heritage, sustainability, and public benefit - embodying the spirit of the Scottish Civil Engineering Awards.