Hansard

I thank Alex Cole-Hamilton for securing the debate, because the issue of sewage and pollution needs to be tackled more effectively. I also thank The Ferret team for the work that they do in general, and more specifically for what they have done to help to uncover this problem and to draw our attention to the problems that far too many of our communities face.

Alex Cole-Hamilton focused on the problems that have been identified in the River Almond, but there are also problems that constituents have raised with me regarding the River Esk, the Water of Leith and the River Forth.? In relation to the River Esk, one of my constituents gave me examples of the impact that waste and sewage are having on the immediate area and on downstream areas. My constituent identified Dryburn as an area where there was a particular issue and showed me photographs of the negative impact.? My constituent has also identified problems with the Water of Leith that impact on the river all the way down to the shore at Leith, where pollution is then released into the River Forth.

I raised those issues with SEPA in the summer. In the response that it sent me this autumn, it was interesting to see the different classifications for bathing waters in Edinburgh and East Lothian. Although nine of the areas identified were categorised as “Good” or “Excellent”, it was interesting that Portobello’s west and central beaches, Seton Sands and Milsey Bay at North Berwick were identified only as “Sufficient”.? Pollution can arise, and the challenge that we face is that there needs to be more monitoring and more mapping so that we have accurate information for all our rivers and action can be taken to address the problem upstream, as well as where it occurs on our beaches.

For me, one of the most striking impacts of Covid was people’s greater reliance on their local beaches for leisure, swimming and surfing. People were holidaying at home. In addition, there are many more people who do wild swimming all year round. Therefore, we need to know that our beaches and rivers are as safe as they can be. As Mercedes Villalba highlighted, we need accurate, up-to-date information so that people can be confident of their safety.

As the motion says, pouring sewage into the water puts us at risk of harmful bacteria and viruses, such as E coli, gastroenteritis and ear, nose and throat infections. As local members will know, E coli has a disruptive impact, which includes businesses having to close.

The BBC has reported that the number of recorded spills from combined sewer overflows in Scotland’s rivers and seas has increased by 40 per cent over the past five years. There were 12,725 “spill events” in 2020, and at least 120 million cubic meters of waste water was spilled from CSOs between 2016 and 2020. We need to look at those overflows. CSOs are designed to spill during heavy rainfall to prevent sewer flooding in properties, but the data is incomplete. The BBC suggested that the number and volume of spills is likely to be higher, because the list that it received related to only a fraction of the operating CSOs. That is because Scottish Water is only required to monitor less than 3 per cent of CSOs for pollution, and no volume data is provided for more than half the spill events. Therefore, we need more action.

SEPA and Scottish Water have recognised that there has been an increase in the frequency with which some CSOs are discharging sewage. They state that that is due to increases in water flows, which exceed the flows that sewers were originally designed to handle, and to blockages resulting from the flushing of inappropriate items, which other members have mentioned.

In its improving urban waters route map, Scottish Water has stated that it will increase monitoring to cover all CSOs and that that should involve around 1,000 additional monitors. I am keen for that work to be progressed as soon as possible so that practical improvements can be made in our rivers and our natural environment.

?According to the advocacy group Surfers Against Sewage, Scottish Water data shows that the equivalent of 47,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools’ worth of waste has been discharged since 2016. That gives a sense of the scale of the challenge.

When the minister sums up the debate, I am keen to hear her respond to the proposals of Surfers Against Sewage for stronger and bolder targets to end the discharge of untreated sewage; an enhanced testing regime that gives a true picture of our water quality in real time; nature restoration to reduce pressure and minimise impacts on sewage infrastructure; and increased investment from industry in infrastructure to prevent destructive practices.

In their powerful speeches, Audrey Nicoll and Siobhian Brown highlighted the issue of climate change, which means that we will get more rainfall and more intense rain. Therefore, we need to up the standards and up the investment so that, as well as meeting the current challenges and ensuring that people across the country have clean water, we tackle the issue for the future so that our rivers and beaches are not damaged by sewage and pollution.