Scottish Water has been fined £10,000 after admitting discharging sewage into a burn. The utility company pleaded guilty at Dunfermline Sheriff Court on 16 January, to allowing waste to enter the brook near Cairneyhill in West Fife. The discharge in April last year, occurred after a blockage at Scottish Water's Cairneyhill Pumping Station. The incident came to light when a resident complained of seeing waste effluent flowing into the Torry Burn from the nearby station. Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) Officers investigated and found that the brook was grey and smelling strongly of sewage.
Water sampling found gross contamination as a result of sewage fungus, and there was a considerable impact on wildlife downstream. Ecology results also showed the discharge had caused a significant impact on the invertebrate communities, for up to 1km. A spokesperson for Scottish Water said, "We apologise to customers for any concern caused by this event. We dealt with these problems as quickly as we could once we knew about them, and took action to limit the impact of any spillages."
