It has emerged this month that the company which runs a plant at the centre of a sewage spill on the Firth of Forth has been involved in a string of previous incidents. Data from the Environment Agency has shown that Thames Water has been fined a total of £147,000 since 2004, for a number of spills in England. We reported back in the May 2007 Monthly Bulletin, that more than 100 million litres of sewage poured into the Forth from the Seafield plant in Leith, Edinburgh. A spill which has since been blamed for foul smells which are plaguing the Norwegian coast.
Scottish Water have begun an investigation into the spill, which occurred after temporary pumping equipment at the plant failed. The pump has now been fixed, and Edinburgh City Council has said it is safe to return to beaches along the Firth of Forth. Thames Water is the UK's largest sewerage company and operates the plant on behalf of Scottish Water. However, the Leith Residents' Association are now calling for the company's contract to be changed.
The Scottish Water investigation should be completed in around four weeks.
