Edinburgh's Seafield sewage works records 165 spills in a year
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
The spills - which saw partially treated sewage flowing into the sea for a total of 890 hours - were among more than 500 sewage spills from sites managed by private firms in Scotland in 2023.
The Seafield works are run by French utility firm Veolia under a private finance initiative (PFI) contract for Scottish Water.


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Hide AdFigures on sewage spills at PFI plants are not proactively published, but Scottish Liberal Democrats obtained the statistics through a Freedom of Information request.
It came after the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) advised people in July last year not to swim or paddle in the sea at Portobello after high levels of bacteria were found in the water.
Lib Dems have long campaigned for action over sewage spills, calling for improved monitoring, targets for reducing it and a ban on the release of sewage in protected areas such as bathing waters.
Scottish Lib Dem leader and Edinburgh Western MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “The more digging you do into Scotland’s smelly secret, the more unpleasant surprises you come across.
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Hide Ad“These figures reveal that next door to Edinburgh’s most popular beach, hundreds of sewage spills have taken place.
"There are various reasons why these sewage releases can happen. Scotland's sewage infrastructure is facing more and more pressure from housebuilding, dramatic weather events and the ravages of time which can lead to sewage being discharged from the system into rivers, beaches and waterways.
"In areas like the Highlands, Scottish Water has taken private sewage works back in house. Veolia needs to urgently shape up or a similar change may be needed.
"With this information not routinely being made public by Sepa, communities across Scotland will be rightly worried that they do not have the full picture around sewage dumping.
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Hide Ad"Scottish Liberal Democrats have published plans for a Clean Water Act that would see a new blue flag system for Scotland's rivers, as well as vital updates to our sewage network and a clamp down on discharges. Scottish ministers need to stop their excuses and get tough on this."
There are 12 sewerage sites in Scotland managed under PFI contracts. Sepa was able to provide overflow data for nine, all managed by Veolia.
The figures showed that across these nine sites, there were 518 spills in 2023, with spills lasting more than 3,500 hours.
That included Veolia sites at Newbridge, Blackburn, Whitburn and East Calder. Newbridge recorded 47 spills in 2023, totalling 259 hours; Blackburn 101 spills, totalling 877 hours; Whitburn 140 spills, totalling 758 hours; and East Calder 65 spills totalling 761 hours.
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Hide AdVeolia said its discharges were licensed and only took place under significant rainfall events. No raw sewage was discharged from the plant.
A spokesperson said: “We operate the Seafield Waste Water Treatment works in line with the SEPA licence conditions and everything that leaves the plant has been treated.
“Even during significant rainfall, the works are designed and operated to ensure all wastewater goes through our screening, grit removal and settlement processes before being discharged.
“We work with the local community, SEPA and Scottish Water to provide an effective service for residents and the environment and support continuous improvement works. We have an open doors policy where members of the public, councillors, MPs and MSPs can visit the site.”
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Hide AdA Scottish Water spokesperson said: “We are monitoring more overflows than ever before, providing more information on overflows than ever before and investing more than ever before in our waste water network.
“Scotland’s water quality is at its highest ever and we remain committed to targeting resources and investment to preserve and protect Scotland’s water environment."
Scottish Water said the Highlands PFI plant operated by Veolia had reverted to Scottish Water ownership and control because the contract expired. And it said the same would happen in April 2029 for Seafield, Newbridge, East Calder, Blackburn, and Whitburn.
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