Bottled water handed out to villagers after river diesel spillage

Bottled water is being delivered to villagers for a second day after a diesel spillage into the River Dochart in Perthshire.

Residents in Killin have been warned by Scottish Water not to use tap water for anything other than flushing toilets after the contamination affected a water treatment plant.

The company said teams have been working round the clock since the alarm was raised and the local water treatment works was shut down as a precautionary measure.

John Griffin, water operations general manager, said: "Our priority is to protect public health by making sure no contaminated water enters the supply network."

He added specialist staff were providing advice to households and businesses on an individual level, while volunteers had been mobilised to help with bottled water.

Griffin said: "We are working incredibly hard to restore the treatment works and network to normal operations as quickly and safely as possible although this may take several days."

Customers have been warned that boiling the water will not make it safe to drink.

They have been urged not to use tap water for anything other than flushing toilets.

This includes drinking, cooking, washing, brushing teeth, feeding pets and the use of appliances such as coffee and ice machines that are connected to the mains supply.

Scottish Water said it was working closely with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) and NHS partners to monitor water quality and assess the network.

The company said water was being added to the local network to flush the pipe system.

Griffin added: "We would like to thank everyone who has been affected for their patience, cooperation and community spirit.

"Restoring safe, normal water supplies for the village is our absolute priority, and our teams will remain on site until that is achieved."

Door-to-door bottled water deliveries were carried out to every affected property on Friday and this will be repeated on Saturday.

A hot food van is also operating in Killin to assist residents who cannot prepare meals without access to safe tap water.

A spokesperson for Certas Energy, which operates the GULF Lix Toll site at Killin, said they were informed of a "fuel loss" on Friday morning following an "attempted theft which damaged one of our fuel tanks".

"Equipment was found on site that suggested there was an attempt to steal diesel from the tank," they added.

The spokesperson said they were "as concerned as everyone else" and that dealing with the impact of the incident was their "priority".

"We are now investigating to fully understand what happened, are engaging with the police, Sepa, the Health and Safety Executive and other specialists at the site. These investigations are ongoing," they said.

They were unable to confirm how the fuel entered the river, and if the leak had been contained.

Sepa said it had received several reports of contamination in the river on Thursday evening and overnight.

Scottish Water said it had closed intake to a water treatment works which had been affected and warned people not to use water from their taps.

Killin Community Council also posted on its Facebook page that residents were advised not to drink the tap water until further notice.

It described the event as "a major contamination incident" and said water tankers would be brought into the village to provide a temporary supply.

Scottish Water said the following postcodes had been affected by the spill.

It added that water from other reservoirs and treatment works was not affected, so people living in postcode areas other than those listed below could use their supplies as normal.

An information point for customer support is being located at McLaren Hall, Main Street, Killin, FK21 8TN.