Scottish Water has not published the openness document

The report was ordered by watchdogs who keep the company in check.

The Customer Consultation Panels admitted the document had not been published because it was out of date by the time it was filed.

The Scottish Conservative Party is to ask Kevin Dunion, the ombudsman who deals with information for public services, to investigate the matter.

The report was ordered two years ago and four academics from three universities worked for the best of a year on the project.

One of the authors, David Miller, is a professor of sociology at Strathclyde University.

Documents we tried to find are still not available on their website Prof David Miller

He said it was not apparent to him how the information, which was "not controversial and didn't go near national security", was being used.

The academics found Scottish Water had a "reflex aversion to disclosure" and concluded that it had failed to reach most of its targets for openness.

In part corporate culture was to blame, the report said.

Scottish Water's Cheryl Black said the document was out of date.

She added: "I don't think it reflects on how Scottish Water does business today."

Prof Miller said he felt "more sorrow than anger" that the report had remained unpublished.

He told BBC News Online Scotland: "It is pathetic, but I am not surprised by it. This is how the system works."

'First class'

The researchers began their work by acting as members of the public, attempting to see what information was available in libraries and online.

He said: "We drew up a list of things we couldn't find and asked the Scottish Executive and Scottish Water for them.

"They came back and said 'Why do you want it?'."

REPORT TIMETABLE Commissioned - 2002 Report handed to panels - September 2003 Authors commended for "first class" work - October 2003 Scottish Executive receive report - November 2003 Scottish Water receive report - December 2003

Prof Miller said the report was neither flawed nor out of date.

"Documents we tried to find are still not available on their website," he said.

Last September the finished document was delivered to the panels which had commissioned it.

The following month they told the authors it was first class.

In November the report went to the Scottish Executive and in December it landed on the desks at Scottish Water itself.

But it did not make it into the public domain until Mr Miller published it on his website.

Mr Miller said: "This is a very sad comment on open government."

Watchdogs had ordered the report into Scottish Water

The Customer Consultation Panels said the report was valuable but it was out of date by the time it was finished.

Murdo Fraser from the Scottish Tories: "I am going to write to Kevin Dunion, who is the ombudsman who deals with information for public services, asking him to investigate the matter.

"If we are committed to open government this is a clear-cut case of a document which should have been available to members of the public and also to politicians so we could question Scottish Water and ministers on the subject."