A new survey has revealed Scots' fears over sewage pollution after untreated human waste was dumped in our rivers and seas 10,000 times in a year. Nearly seven in ten believe sewage and chemical pollution poses the biggest threat to the health of our seas, according to a Survation poll shared with the Record.
The research, conducted by charities network Scottish Environment LINK, found litter pollution also high up the list of concerns. A total of 91 per cent of people polled said it was important to them personally that Scotland’s waters are in a healthy state.
And asked to name the top environmental threats to our seas, 69 per cent said sewage and chemical pollution, 61 per cent said litter and 48 per cent said climate change.
It comes as a shocking 10,763 sewage spills into Scotland’s waters were reported last year - meaning waste was dumped in rivers and seas at a staggering rate of 30 times per day.
But eco charities have warned the public are being left in the dark over the true scale of the problem - as current stats are based on monitoring of just three per cent of storm overflows.
Clare Cavers, Senior Projects Manager at Fidra, said: “Evidence of pollution in our rivers and seas from invisible chemicals and tiny plastic particles is growing all the time, and a lot is known to come from sewage.
“There needs to be an urgent increase in monitoring sewage from storm overflows in Scotland, so that we can understand exactly what is coming through the sewers and where it is coming from."
Campaigners are calling for the Scottish Government to implement electronic monitoring of all the country’s sewage overflows by 2024.
Scottish Water monitors only nine per cent of overflows, and is required to monitor just three per cent - while in England and Wales, 80 per cent are monitored, with plans to ramp up to 100 per cent by the end of next year.
Storm overflows, which release untreated sewage into rivers and coastal waters, are only intended to operate during extreme weather events. Wet wipes and cotton buds can also end up in our seas when sewers overflow.
It came as figures previously revealed by The Ferret website showed 49 of 87 designated bathing waters in Scotland - including some of the country’s most popular beaches - recorded levels of faecal bacteria over the summer that could endanger health.
Evidence from Marine Conservation Society volunteer Beachwatch litter surveys suggest a higher level of sewage-related debris on Scottish beaches than in England and Wales.
Calum Duncan, Head of Conservation for Scotland at the Marine Conservation Society, said: “Scotland’s beaches are beautiful – but anybody who has visited one in recent years will have noticed pollution being washed up on our shores.
“Our seas are being used as a dumping ground for sewage, plastic rubbish and ‘forever chemicals’, all of which continue to build up over time, wreaking havoc on our planet.”
Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur MSP said: “Scotland is so far behind England when it comes to monitoring sewage that we may never know the true scale of the problem.
"The Scottish Government needs to stop the routine dumping of sewage into Scottish waters before the damage becomes too great."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We take the matter of sewage pollution very seriously and work closely with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Scottish Water to reduce its impacts on the water environment.
“SEPA classifies 66 per cent of Scotland’s waters in overall good ecological condition. This is compared to England where DEFRA figures show only 16 per cent are in good condition or the average across Europe at around 45 per cent.”
Case study: Loch Leven
Loch Leven enjoys - on paper, at least - four layers of environmental protections.
The historic site is a national nature reserve, a special protection area, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a RAMSAR site (a wetland site of international importance). But despite that, Loch Leven is also subject to worrying claims of sewage pollution.
In September, staff at the NatureScot agency warned Scotand’s environment watchdog of “water pouring out of the sewage works into the loch”. The grim letter also told how “cyclists are cycling through raw sewage and dogs are walking through it also”.
There has also been a growing number of incidents of toxic algal blooms recorded in the Kinross-shire fresh water loch. They are caused by phosphorous coming from agricultural run-off and also from two waste water treatment plants which handle the sewage from Milnathort and Kinross.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency suggested the pollution was the result of “periods of heavy rainfall” leading to "the amount of effluent in the sewer exceeding the capacity of the sewer". They added: “Until the entire historic sewer network is replaced, separating out the foul water from the surface water, the only other alternative is discharge to the environment during periods of heavy rainfall.”
The Lib Dems, who first raised the issue with Scottish ministers, claimed the loch was being treated as an “open sewer” and accused the government of turning a “blind eye” to it. SNP chiefs claimed there had been “no evidence of sewage debris or pollution in the watercourse”.
Research by travel blog My Voyage Scotland in October found Loch Leven was one of Scotland’s top ten beauty spots.
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