A day in the life of Blair – our Guardian of the Source
Blair O’Connor is Highland Spring’s very own ‘Guardian of the Source’ – an extremely important job at Highland Spring HQ.
His job is to protect our natural water source first discovered in 1503. His ambition is to guarantee we produce the purest water and to ensure on-going sustainability of the water source. In everything Blair does, he protects the environment around the Ochil Hills, making sure we hold on to our position as leading ethical bottled water brand in the UK for ten years running.
Blair’s day involves managing water resource. He is responsible for interpreting all the water data from the rainfall, groundwater levels and abstraction of the water. He is required to go to great lengths to look after the source of the water and the land that surrounds it, 365 days a year come rain or shine. This means keeping it protected from anything and everything that doesn’t grow, hop or nibble at the wild heathers and grass that covers it.
"The geology of Scotland is incredibly varied and the Perthshire landscape is a diverse wilderness. Although we’ve been drawing water from the same protected land in the Ochil Hills for over 35 years, the rock formations were formed 400 million years ago." Blair O’Connor.
The water is definitely worth the wait. To make sure we bottle only the purest spring water, our boreholes reach down as far as 150m, deep into the basalt and sandstone layer, bringing it gently to the surface. We abstract less than 3% of the water that falls on our land. As with everything he oversees, Blair ensures we act sustainably, hand-in-hand with nature to minimise our impact on our special surroundings.
Growing up in the Highlands, Blair spent a lot of his childhood exploring the outdoors – lochs, rolling hills and remote countryside. Blair says "There’s nothing quite like the mystique of the Ochil Hills, looking after a natural resource and preserving the magnificent landscape. It’s my dream job and it’s my ambition to be uniquely good at it."