Annual Consultative Meeting

From Pupils to Politicians: Big Water Conversations Make a Splash in Dundee!

 More than 140 people joined our ACM – both in person and virtually – at Dundee’s award-winning Science Centre.

Our Chair, Deirdre Michie, hosted the event where she and our Chief Executive, Alex Plant, delivered keynote speeches on our latest performance.

They highlighted how 2024/25 was a record year for us in terms of delivering internal targets to ensure we continue to our customers at the heart of all we do. They told how customer satisfaction hit an all-time high, how we more than halved serious Environmental Pollution Incidents, and cut interruptions to supply by 22%. Attendees were also updated on how Scottish Water invested a record £1.09 billion in the last year and delivered water and waste water projects in many parts of the country.

They also talked about how the changing climate, our aging assets and population growth (and the move from west to east) are among the challenges we faced.

They were joined by other senior leaders to answers questions from customers – these included pre-submitted ones and questions from customers in the audience and watching live online.

No topic was off the table – from sewer overflows and how we listen to communities, to the way we work with and charge developers, bathing water quality, Executive pay, and even how we team up with councils and utilities to plan roadworks. Vox Pop questions from customers across Scotland added even more local voices to the discussion – with a mum-of-two asking if it was safe for her children to paddle in the sea.

Our Chief Operating Officer, Peter Farrer, also gave a heartfelt update on how Scotland’s water sector has transformed during his 41-year career, ahead of his retirement next year – earning warm feedback from attendees who praised the leadership team’s “transparency”, “warmth” and “knowledge”.

Earlier in the day, Alex Plant and Deirdre Michie swapped stories with Dundee primary pupils taking part in a Generation H₂O workshop and tour of the Dundee centre. They learned about the importance of water and on actions they can take to protect nature’s most precious resource.

Mr Plant and our Director of Capital Investment, Rob Mustand, met Chief Executives of Dundee City Council, Angus Council, Fife Council, and the Flooding Manager from Perth & Kinross Council ahead of the ACM. It provided the opportunity to discuss local issues with senior leaders within neighbouring councils and find new ways of working together to ensure we work collectively to help Scotland flourish.