They are surrounded by miles and miles of water but their few residents have had trouble of late getting their hands on a drinkable drop.
They are surrounded by miles and miles of water but their few residents have had trouble of late getting their hands on a drinkable drop.
But now a supply of drinking water has been installed at a group of the most remote islands off Britain's coast after a drought last summer.
The archipelago of St Kilda, which lies 41 miles west of Benbecula in Outer Hebrides, is home to about 30 Ministry of Defence workers and National Trust for Scotland staff.
They had no ready access to drinkable water after a spring on Hirta, the biggest island of the group, dried up in June. At one point water had to be shipped in.
However, Scottish Water confirmed yesterday that the "almost impossible" task of installing a desalination unit, which makes seawater drinkable, had been carried out and that the islanders' work had not been interrupted by the drought.
The National Trust for Scotland, which owns the ecologically rich islands, welcomed the service. Susan Bain, the trust's property manager for St Kilda, said: "The lack of rain this year, and its impact on water supplies, has been a challenge.
"We are very grateful that Scottish Water and the MoD responded so quickly to find a solution. This meant our staff were able to carry on with the vital conservation work required to sustain a dual World Heritage Site."
The £25,000 project to install a desalination unit, which removes salt and other minerals from seawater, was carried out by private contractor Veolia Water UK for the MoD under a 25-year public private partnership. Scottish Water, a partnering contractor in the venture, supplied the desalination plant through its framework contractors, Central Industrial Services (CIS).
The last inhabitants of St Kilda left at their own request in the 1930s. The islands were deserted until 1957 when the government incorporated them into a missile tracking range. The only occupants today are National Trust volunteers and staff and staff at Hirta's missile tracking base.
Andy Smith, Scottish Water's commercial operations manager, praised what he said was a technically complex operation, which took place over three weeks in July.
"It's a very different kind of build from what the majority of experienced contractors are used to," he said. "Every nut, every bolt had to be checked and double checked - missing even a tiny component could delay the project by days - and we didn't have days. It's not as though you can pick up equipment from the local DIY store, St Kilda is just so remote."
After the spring ran dry, water was shipped in from Stornoway. But after 20 tonnes of water was used in a week, this was discounted as a long-term solution.
As the islands have dual World Heritage Site status, it was important that the plant was non-permanent and easy to remove without leaving any environmental impact.
The desalination unit was built on the mainland and shipped to St Kilda by barge, through seas where waves can be up to 40ft high.
Jim McGillivray, CIS technical director, said: "This was a unique project and certainly one of the most unusual and challenging we've ever encountered. This was further compounded by the short construction period and isolated location. It was also essential that the unit was built robustly, yet remained simple to operate."
