Leadhills became the forgotten community over the Christmas period as water supplies to several homes were frozen. With the response of Scottish Water hobbled apparently by systemic failures, some homes have been without water for the best part of a month. Enter Rab Campbell and Sean Henderson, the brains behind the LWC – Leadhills Water Campaign. Their efforts have made our local problem a national issue and have lead to the arrival in Leadhills of 14 teams of Scottish Water contractors, intent on restoring supplies and addressing the causes of our problems, along with news teams from STV, BBC, The Scottish Sun and the Glasgow Herald.
But it does not end there. It has become apparent that there were significant mistakes made in the upgrading of our water supply in 2005 that have caused our supply problems. The Leadhills Water Campaign is about ensuring that these mistakes are corrected to which end, over the coming days a questionnaire will be circulated in the village, with the aim of securing information on how the village as a whole has faired through the big freeze. This information could well reveal other clues to problems with the water supply which will help Scottish Water to help us as a community. Residents are urged to complete these questionnaires even if they have not experienced loss of supply.
Scottish Water has stated their intention to hold a public meeting in the village within a few weeks to give us the opportunity to raise our concerns and present evidence of failings. A flood of completed questionnaires will help us collate and present a solid base of information on the state of Leadhills’ water supply. Questionnaires can be submitted to the Village Shop, Mike Fuller at 12 Ramsay Road or to Rab Campbell.
Download the Leadhills Water Campaign Questionnaire (MS Word Document).
Leadhills Headlines:
STV 30/12/10, The Scotsman 31/12/10, Scottish Sun 1/1/11, BBC Scotland 1/1/11, STV 2/1/11, BBC Scotland 2/1/11 Scottish Sun 3/1/11, Glasgow Herald 3/1/11