Engineering masterpiece of the North East gets 21st century renewal

Scottish Water has reached a major milestone in its £60m investment to revamp Invercannie Water Treatment Works (WTW) in Aberdeenshire. 

The WTW by Banchory was originally constructed more than 150 years ago and was hailed a jewel in the crown of engineering success. 

Opened by Queen Victoria in October 1866 and supplying the then 75,000 population of the Granite City with 27 million litres of water every day, it has been diligently serving the growing North East population ever since.

Today (Friday 20 September) its successful modern makeover was celebrated with a re-opening and tree planting ceremony led by Judy Whyte, Provost of Aberdeenshire, alongside Scottish Water’s Chief Executive, Alex Plant and Board Chair, Deirdre Michie OBE. The rowan tree was planted in front of a salvaged piece of the works’ original 1866 brick and clay aqueduct.

“This is a very welcome investment from Scottish Water. The Scottish Government is working closely with partners to make Scotland’s water supply more resilient to climate change and our waterways cleaner. Scottish Water’s investment in ageing assets like Invercannie will help us adapt to climate change, improve the quality and resilience of the water supply to the North and secure our precious water resources for the future.”

Gillian Martin
Acting Net Zero and Energy Secretary

Building on the success of renowned civil engineer James Simpson’s jewel of the north-east, Invercannie remains a key source of drinking water for the region today – delivering fresh, high-quality water for around 300,000 customers. 

It directly serves the neighbouring areas of Banchory, Aboyne and Stonehaven, and as far as Rhynie, Alford and Ellon through its combined supply with Mannofield Water Treatment Works in Aberdeen. Together they supply around 100 million litres of drinking water daily to the North East, and up to 120 million during peaks in seasonal demand.

The current project, which started in 2020, saw an extensive refurbishment of the existing plant to increase storage, resilience and safeguard the supply to customers. Upgrades included a new water storage tank, capable of holding 19 million litres of drinking water on-site; the installation of a dissolved air flotation plant to improve water quality; and a new pumping station and pipework. The improvements made here enables the WTW to produce 63 million litres of world-class drinking water a day. 

The work has been carried out on Scottish Water’s behalf by alliance partner ESD, a joint venture between MWHT, GT and Binnies.

“This is a significant and very welcome investment by Scottish Water to make the hugely-important Invercannie plant fit for the future. The sheer scope of this facility is incredible – not only supplying the local towns of Banchory and Aboyne with fresh drinking water but also communities as far afield as Ellon and Stonehaven.

Aberdeenshire certainly sees its fair share of rainfall and we are very fortunate to enjoy such a high quality of water - thanks in no small measure to investment in water treatment infrastructure across the region.
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Cllr Judy Whyte
Provost of Aberdeenshire

Scottish Water’s Chief Executive Alex Plant, said: “Scottish Water continues to invest at record levels – with more than £1 billion spent in 2023-24 on improving our network, supporting growth, and protecting Scotland’s environment. This major investment at Invercannie, delivered by our partners ESD, will ensure we can provide the service our customers and communities in the City and Shire expect, far into the future.
 
“The engineering excellence of our Victorian predecessors is evident at Invercannie as it continues its service 150 years on. This latest multi-million pound upgrade is testament to our commitment to safeguard this precious resource for years to come despite the challenges that our more unpredictable climate is bringing. This will improve resilience of supply by upgrading and renewing ageing assets while delivering value for money to customers.”

Scottish Water’s Board Chair, Deirdre Michie, said: “Extreme and unpredictable weather carries a real risk to our services; warmer and drier summers create increased demand and can cause deteriorating water quality, while more frequent, extreme storms can result in disruption to our assets.

“Invercannie is a great example of the significant investment that we’re making to improve the resilience of water supply to the hundreds of thousands of customers served by the works, reducing the risk of interruption to supply during extreme weather caused by our changing climate.

“We all have a part to play in using our world-class water wisely, but that alone is not enough. Adapting our assets to be more resilient to a changing climate requires investment of up to £5 billion over the next 25 years; we are not complacent about the challenge ahead as we continue to invest at record levels.”

ESD’s Chief Operating Officer, Peter Walsh, said: “ESD is proud of the work we have carried out at Invercannie.  In many ways, this has been a flagship project for us, particularly in relation to our success in delivering this significant and complex project safely while continuing to supply world-class drinking water to customers. 

“We’re very grateful to local residents for their patience and understanding while this work has been ongoing.  Our work at Invercannie provides greater resilience of supply for our customers within the region.”