PUBLIC responsibility and accountability tend to be aspects of modern life that we expect of governments and councils. But with the current hot, dry weather spell having a serious impact on water supplies, a time has come for members of the public – all of us – to play our part in helping to stem a social and environmental problem.

Scottish Water has called on customers to use less water through a series of simple measures that should not be too much of an inconvenience for anyone. Sure, horticultural pride might suffer by the tiniest tad if a watering can rather than a full-on, super-saturating hose is used on plants and lawns, but the garden will survive and bloom again.

Similarly, an old-fashioned bucket might not be as much of a blast as a hose on the car, but it does the job – and will get you brownie points from your socially aware neighbours. Even better: just do the windows and lights for now.

These and similar measures – shorter showers (in preference to baths), turning off the tap when brushing your teeth, only using washing machines and dishwashers when they are fully loaded – are small steps but important ones as the searing summer threatens serious drought.

To adapt the old Scottish saw, mony a trickle maks a muckle, and if we each save a little bit the better it will be for us all. That includes industry, and enterprises might like to consider reducing demand and cutting down on wastage while, as regards the aforementioned public authorities, it is not a good look for council park workers to be using hoses to water flower beds.

Public bodies need to set an example in this regard and, while municipal pride is all very well and normally laudable, it too is going to have to take a back seat. We are talking here about non-essential use which, if continued to a very serious point, could affect essential use in hospitals and care homes.

As well as inculcating a sense of personal, industrial and municipal responsibility, the current situation has also made us aware of what a precious resource we have in water. Most of the time we don’t think about it. But now we are going to have to for, as Peter Farrer, Scottish Water’s chief operating officer, has put it: “Scotland’s public water supply is the lifeblood of the country.”

Northern Ireland has already instituted a hosepipe ban, and Scottish Water’s appeal to customers to scale back their consumption could be the first step towards similar mandatory restrictions here. Before it comes to that, let us all play our part in using water responsibly. It’s not a lot to ask.