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      “We didn’t notice any problems until we had a long dry spell, and then we started getting ill from the water.”

      Homeowner, off-grid house, Loch Walton

      Glass of yellow-tinted untreated loch water
      Untreated loch water

      Straight from Loch Walton, before treatment.

      Key numbers

      0 E. coli at the tap

      In every treated sample, October 2023 to September 2025. The loch reached 2 per 100 ml. The UK limit is 0

      3 years

      In service since October 2023

      5 times more water

      The owners now drink five times as much as they did from bottled water

      £50,000 to £60,000

      The quote to lay mains 3 miles to the house

      An off-grid house on Loch Walton, Stirlingshire, draws all its water from the loch. Its owners have lived there since 1990.

      The loch changes through the year. Heavy rain washes in sediment, and warm summers bring algal blooms and bacteria. For more than three years the house relied on bottled water deliveries.

      We installed a WaterOne at the house in October 2023, and it has supplied the house’s drinking water since.

      A source that changes with the seasons is the test any unit faces when it is deployed for months on one supply.

      The problem

      Floating water intake on the peaty loch with autumn reflections
      Loch water that changes with the seasons

      In May 2024 the loch water failed UK limits for E. coli, coliforms, enterococci and colour. In October 2023 it carried enterococci and C. perfringens.

      Close-up of weed and sediment in shallow loch water
      A filter system that turned the water green

      “The water from our tap was coming out green, and nobody wants to drink green water.”

      The house had a filter and reverse osmosis system. Seasonal changes clogged it, bacteria grew in the cartridges, and the water pressure fell.

      Small hill loch with reeds and conifers
      Mains water was too far away

      “Initial feasibility quotes from Scottish Water came back at over £50,000-60,000 for 3 miles.”

      With no mains within reach, the house moved to bottled water deliveries.

      What we did

      Off-grid timber house on rural Scottish moorland at Loch Walton
      One WaterOne for the whole house

      In October 2023 we installed a WaterOne to supply the house’s drinking water from the loch.

      Floating water intake on Loch Walton beneath Scots pines
      No filters, no membranes, no chemicals

      The WaterOne uses Vapour Compression Distillation, a process used in desalination plants that supply drinking water around the world, built into one unit.

      It treats bacteria, metals and organics in a single stage, with nothing to clog or replace.

      Loch Walton and autumn hillside with grazing sheep
      Tested over two years by a UKAS-accredited laboratory

      Between October 2023 and September 2025 we sampled the loch water twice and the treated water four times. Scottish Water Scientific Services, a UKAS-accredited laboratory, analysed every sample.

      The results

      No faecal bacteria in any treated sample, across two years of seasons.

      Per 100 ml. Highest loch sample → every treated sample

      2 → 0

      E. coli. Loch 28 May 2024. UK limit 0

      3 → 0

      Coliforms. Loch 28 May 2024. UK limit 0

      4 → 0

      Enterococci. Loch 26 Oct 2023. UK limit 0

      2 → 0

      C. perfringens. Loch 26 Oct 2023. UK limit 0

      0, 0, 0, 0

      E. coli, coliforms, enterococci, C. perfringens. Treated water, 26 Oct 2023

      0, 0, 0, 0

      E. coli, coliforms, enterococci, C. perfringens. Treated water, 20 Sep 2024

      0, 0, 0, 0

      E. coli, coliforms, enterococci, C. perfringens. Treated water, 15 Nov 2024

      0, 0, 0, 0

      E. coli, coliforms, enterococci, C. perfringens. Treated water, 26 Sep 2025

      Counts per 100 ml. Loch values are presumptive counts, as reported. If Water took the samples, and Scottish Water Scientific Services, a UKAS-accredited laboratory, analysed them. The loch and treated samples were not all taken on the same day. The results apply to the parameters measured.

      Why this matters beyond one house

      A single test shows a unit works on one day. This loch was sampled in autumn and early summer, and the tap water over two years of service, and faecal indicators at the tap stayed at zero throughout.

      Glass of clear purified loch water on a log pile
      What changed for the customer

      “Yellow and manky water to crystal clear.”

      The house no longer relies on bottled water deliveries, which ran to 52 large dispenser bottles a year. The owners now drink five times as much water as before.

      “It gets rid of all the bugs and means we’re not using as many plastic bottles.”

      Do you need to treat challenging water sources?

      Tell us where your water comes from and what you need it for. We will tell you whether a WaterOne can treat it.

      Prefer to talk? Book a call

      sales@if-water.com