SEPA figures “significantly underestimate” volume of sewage released

Scottish Liberal Democrat analysis of figures from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency has today highlighted thousands of occasions in which the volume of sewage overflowing into Scottish waterways was not logged.

The party's analysis, originally published in the Daily Record, shows that in 2021 alone:

• While 10,799 incidents are catalogued, in almost half of cases (5,219) either no record of the volume discharged was provided or it was not required to be provided.
• An overflow event at Tor Na Dee in Aberdeen lasted for more than 4 months.
• Waste Water Treatment Works at Biggar, Perth, Fintry and Armadale all recorded events that lasted for more than 1,000 consecutive hours.
• There were almost 100 occasions on which overflow events lasted for more than a week.
• The largest recorded overflow was at Dalmarnock in Glasgow, with 866,532 metres cubed discharged, the equivalent of 347 Olympic swimming pools. The next three largest figures recorded were all at Shieldhall Water Treatment Works in Glasgow.
• In total more than 34 million cubic metres was discharged, the equivalent of 13,600 Olympic pools.

Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“The Scottish Government are neglecting our rivers and waterways.

“In England almost every sewage overflow is monitored but here the monitoring is far more rudimentary with just 4% of overflows getting the same treatment.

“That means there is every reason to believe that the current volumes are a significant underestimate of the true figure.

“The new Environment Secretary must listen to the calls from Scottish Liberal Democrats and environment campaigners for targets to be set to reduce discharges, for enhanced monitoring to be backed up by transparent reporting, and for the acceleration of measures to upgrade sewage systems and tackle overflows.”