The Marine Conservation Society asks why screened, untreated sewage was discharged from a pumping station near Seafield Sewage Treatment works in Leith, Edinburgh, contaminating the waters of the Firth of Forth over the weekend. The discharge has only now been halted, after pouring out screened sewage in large volumes since Friday 20th April.

Calum Duncan, MCS Scottish Conservation Manager said ‘Questions have to be asked about what back-up equipment exists in the event of a pump or other equipment failure. Given the choice of releasing the sewage to sea, or allowing it to backflow into people’s homes, the correct decision was of course to allow it to be released to sea, but the most important question is: why does no back-up system exist to prevent that decision having to be made in the first place? We support calls for an investigation into this matter.’

Although sewage solids were screened from the discharge, bacteria and viruses in the millions of litres of the resultant untreated effluent entering the sea can be harmful to humans. The Authorities have been correct to advise people to stay out of the water and, if individuals do come into contact with the water, to wash thoroughly in clean water - especially before handling food.

Calum Duncan continued “The 2007 bathing season is nearly upon us. In recent years, Edinburgh, East Lothian and Fife beaches have done very well in the MCS Good Beach Guide, so it would be a shame if this sewage treatment failure were to lead to contaminated bathing waters at the start of this summer. Hopefully the contaminated water will have dispersed before the bathing season gets into full swing.

“This event comes shortly after the results of the MCS Beachwatch 2006 litter survey showed elevated levels of sewage related debris on some beaches in Scotland. We have some beautiful beaches and our sewerage infrastructure has to be up to the job of preventing their contamination with pathogens and debris. It is unacceptable that in the twenty-first century we are still wrestling with nineteenth century problems. We welcome the billions of pounds of infrastructure improvement that has been made to date to catch-up with the rest of the UK, but this incident highlights that the problems of inadequate sewage treatment in Scotland are far from solved.”

Some species of filter-feeding shellfish, such as surf clams and razor shells, are harvested for personal consumption in the Firth of Forth, and these can accumulate pathogens from the water. It is therefore inadvisable to eat shellfish caught on the shores of the Firth of Forth until such time as the sewage problem has subsided.

The Forth is also of European importance for wading birds and seabirds and the Isle of May for seals and rocky reefs, whilst protected species of whales, dolphin and porpoise also ply the waters of the firth.

Calum Duncan continued ‘Elevated sewage levels can have localised impacts on sea life. Excess nutrients can lead to algal blooms, deoxygenation of the water and localised fish kills due to suffocation. It is too early to say whether this has happened, but the Firth of Forth is a large water body and the leaked effluent should hopefully not take too long to be diluted and flushed from the Forth by the tide. We await results of water quality testing with interest.”

This incident once again focuses attention on the Firth of Forth, and all of Scotland’s seas, and highlights what we stand to lose by mismanaging them.

Calum concluded ‘If the spill had been a similar volume of oil, the environmental impacts would likely be far greater, highlighting concerns about proposals for ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Forth. This incident also serves as a reminder of how valuable our coasts and seas are and reinforces our calls for a Scottish Marine Bill to put in place a statutory system of Marine Spatial Planning and a network of nationally important marine protected areas for our precious sea life. It is time we gave Scotland’s seas the protection and respect they deserve.”

ENDS
Press Contact:
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Calum Duncan, MCS Scottish Conservation Manager
Direct tel: 0131 226 6360. Mobile: 07841 985 595.
Or scotland@mcsuk.org