How do the isles of scilly get water?
Water Supply There are no rivers on Scilly but each inhabited island has a freshwater or brackish pool. Freshwater springs can be found on the majority of the islands but the water supply is mainly provided by boreholes, tapping the underground supply. The Council is the last remaining public water authority in the United Kingdom and is responsible for water supply and sewerage on St. Mary’s and water supply on Bryher. Lack of potable water in periods of high demand led the Council to invest in a desalination plant to serve St. Mary’s in 1992. The other inhabited islands rely on private borehole supplies, supplemented with rainwater collection tanks, where the threat of saline intrusion or other pollution factors is of ongoing concern. The Duchy have commissioned assessments of the water supply on St. Martin’s and St. Agnes and a funding bid through Objective One is being sought to improve the situation on St. Agnes.
