A primary school was shut yesterday afternoon and warnings to conserve water were issued in the north-east after shortages were reported across the region.
Turriff Primary was closed to all staff and pupils yesterday afternoon due to a lack of water, and residents and businesses have been asked to “use their water wisely” as the recent heatwave continues to deplete supplies across the country.
Scottish Water has urged those in communities across northern Aberdeenshire and most of Moray to avoid using hoses to water their gardens and clean their cars, and take short showers instead of baths.
Residents have also been asked to turn off the tap when brushing their teeth, and only use washing machines or dishwashers when they are fully loaded.
Peter Farrer, the chief operating officer of Scottish Water said: “We are urging everyone living and working locally to take simple, practical and common sense steps to use water wisely.
“In the area served by Turriff water treatment works, it’s important that people consider their water needs and help us maintain supplies in the area.
“This period of weather has been unusually prolonged, and we’ve seen usage levels increase significantly.
“We’re committed to maintaining public water supplies across the country, and are taking a number of steps to ensure they can be maintained.
“We need the community to support this by thinking about how water is used, and take some practical actions to make sure we can keep the water cycle flowing.”
And although it was slightly cooler than the burning hot conditions earlier this week which resulted in wildfires across many parts of the north-east, thermometers still managed to hit 21C during the warmest parts of yesterday afternoon in parts of the country.
And the dry, hot weather is forecast to continue into the weekend, with little to no rain forecast across Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Highlands or Islands.
Tinderbox conditions continued to result in wild blazes yesterday in the north-east yesterday.
Fire fighters were called to battle burning gorse between Bucksburn and Kingswells in Aberdeen for the third day in a row, and the emergency services were also called to the Royal Aberdeen Golf Course at around 4.40am yesterday to tackle a 27,000 sq ft blaze.