Burst water pipes caused by the freezing wintry weather has left communities in Caithness without supplies for at least two days.
The weather also continues to have an impact on roads in the Highlands, with the B9176 Struie Road, near the Dornoch Firth, closing due to a minor landslip caused by excess water during the thaw.
Water, mud and debris came onto the road on the Alness side of the Dalneich Road.
It was to remain closed overnight until an inspection this morning.
And frozen pipes caused problems at Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie forcing it to shut for the day.
Scottish Water said bottled water had been made available to households affected by lost supplies around Dunbeath and Lybster.
Supplies have been restored to properties in Berriedale.
A spokesman for Scottish Water said: “We apologise to customers in a number of areas in Caithness who may have experienced interruptions to their water supplies over the last two days.
“Water has now been restored to properties in Berriedale and we have Scottish Water teams on site in Dunbeath and Lybster identifying and fixing any remaining burst mains that are impacting on customer supplies.
“Given the extreme weather, trying to pinpoint the exact locations of these bursts in order to start repairs is proving difficult and we are urging locals to report any signs of water leakage in their locality as soon as they can.
“We are working hard to restore all supplies as quickly as possible and thank customers for their patience while we complete these repairs.
“A burst pipe at Upper Camster, Lybster has been fixed and we are currently recharging the water main to restore supplies to properties affected.
“There are five properties currently affected by a burst main at Clais Cairn Hill and we have a team on site currently carrying out repairs. We anticipate this work being complete this afternoon.”
A spokeswoman at Highland Wildlife Park confirmed they had to close to the public because of frozen water pipes, which was affecting visitor amenities.
