The Scottish Parliament | Strengthening operational water resilience

Business Stream recently worked in collaboration with the Scottish Parliament to undertake a full site survey and develop an Emergency Water Plan designed to strengthen operational resilience in the event of a water outage or supply disruption.

Key objectives

The objective of the project was to assess the Scottish Parliament’s existing water infrastructure and emergency planning arrangements, ensuring the building could remain operational in the event of a water supply interruption.

Following initial engagement, Business Stream facilitated meetings with key departmental teams within the Parliament, providing presentations on emergency water planning and resilience led by Business Stream’s Emergency and Contingency Manager and supported by the water retailer’s account management team.

A comprehensive site survey was then carried out to evaluate the resilience of the Parliament’s water systems. This included the drop testing of cold water storage facilities and an engineering survey to determine suitable locations for tanker fill points, enabling the delivery of tankered water to maintain operations during a water emergency.

Due to the high-profile nature of the building and the security requirements associated with a national political institution, all proposed upgrades to the water infrastructure had to meet stringent national security standards. Close liaison with Parliament security teams ensured that equipment was sourced and installed in line with these requirements.

Alongside the infrastructure upgrades, Business Stream helped to create a bespoke Water Emergency Plan. Developed using Business Stream’s in-house planning framework, the plan incorporates water conservation measures designed to safeguard on-site water storage during an emergency until alternative supplies can be mobilised.

Delivering benefits

The project has significantly strengthened the Scottish Parliament’s operational resilience in the event of a water supply disruption.

The newly developed Water Emergency Plan provides a clear framework for managing a water outage while ensuring that parliamentary operations can continue with minimal disruption. Tailored specifically to the Parliament building and its operational requirements, the plan ensures the right processes and communication channels are in place during an emergency.

The development of this Plan will now also enable Business Stream to provide the Scottish Parliament with a 24/7 response to any water emergencies through our out-of-hours on call processes - whilst upgrades to the site’s water infrastructure ensure fast, effective and safe continuity of water supply through the delivery of alternative water supplies in an emergency.

Following the completion of the first installation, the Scottish Parliament has commissioned Business Stream to project manage the installation of a second tanker fill point. This will extend emergency water coverage to the whole building, ensuring an even greater level of operational continuity in the event of a major outage.