Scottish Water has launched its Soak Up The Rain campaign, which is encouraging people to help reduce pressure on drainage networks by taking small, individual actions at home, such as adding plants and garden borders, switching to permeable paving where possible, and installing water butts to collect rainwater.
The utility is responding to drainage challenges through major investment that combines engineering expertise with nature-based solutions to better manage rainwater and, alongside this, is now calling on customers to play a part at home.
Hard surfaces such as driveways, patios and paved gardens can speed up how quickly rainwater enters the drainage network. Allowing water to soak into soil or capturing it for reuse helps slow that flow, reducing strain on the system during heavy rainfall.
Lucy Broadie, Flooding Manager of Scottish Water, said: “This isn’t about asking customers to solve flooding themselves. It’s about working together – combining large-scale investment with simple actions at home that help slow rainwater down and reduce pressure on drains.”
The company launched its Soak Up The Rain campaign in Glasgow and Dundee with two 'seed walls' installed in Glasgow and Dundee - large posters made up of 500 packets of seeds, which we will be encouraging customers to take home and plant in their gardens to help 'soak up the rain'.
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The packets made up a picture of a bleak monoblock flooded garden - once the packets were removed, the image underneath was a bright, colourful garden which has plentiful nature to soak up the rain.
The campaign sits alongside significant projects already underway across Scotland, from neighbourhood-level rainwater management schemes to city-wide approaches that rethink how water moves through urban environments.
Scottish Water says adapting to climate change requires a collective effort, with households, communities and public bodies all playing a role in building resilience.
Mrs Broadie added: “Rain has always been part of life in Scotland, but it’s falling harder and faster. By making small, practical changes now, we can all help build a more resilient Scotland for the future.”
Further information on the Soak Up The Rain campaign, including practical guidance for households, is available on the Scottish Water website. www.soakuptherain.scot
Main image: A wall picture made up of packets of seeds to give away to customers in Glasgow and Dundee
Credit: Scottish Water and SNS Photography