MSP Baillie and LibDems leader blast Scottish Water over sewage spill at Havoc shore

By Lucy Ashton

Dumbarton’s MSP has called for urgent action over the recurring problem of sewage being discharged on to the Clyde shore at Havoc in the West End.

Jackie Baillie has branded the disgusting situation a serious danger to health and a disgrace.

Local man Ronnie McCuaig raised the alarm after making the discovery at the shore near the Scottish Rocks, which is  popular with walkers and picnickers.

The retired sanitation engineer had earlier battled  Scottish Water, after a similar mess was left on this same stretch of shoreline last year, but it was a case of David V Goliath and his complaint went unheeded.

The company claimed at the time that the problem was “bleached seaweed”, but they later pledged to clean up the area after admitting that some effluent had made its way onto the shore from the sewage works at Ardoch, beneath Westcliff, Clerkhill cliffs and Brucehill.

Water company bosses have been embarrassed into visiting the location, which has been transformed into Havoc Meadow and cleaned up in a commendable one-man operation by Tam Towie  after the politician demanded action when Ronnie’s pleas fell on deaf ears.

Now difficulties have arisen yet again after a significant fresh, foul-smelling spill was found at the site following heavy rain.

 Jackie Baillie, above right,  said: “Scottish Water’s bosses are earning headline-grabbing amounts of money, yet they cannot sort out the issues which are leading to sewage spilling onto the shore at Havoc.

“It is not the first time either, after spending lots of time last time this was reported denying that sewage was present, they committed to arranging a clean-up.

The sewage farm at Ardoch in Dumbarton’s West End.

“It’s a disgrace that we find ourselves back in the same position. I walked along the Havoc footpath and saw for myself the sewage that had been deposited on the shore. There needs to be monitoring and action taken.

“Water companies in England have been hitting the headlines for allowing sewage to discharge into rivers and onto beaches but this also takes place in Scotland.”

The Dumbarton Democrat has reported this scandal on numerous occasions, but there has been no response from West Dunbartonshire Council, who should be taking a real interest in this.

Ronnie McCuaig said: “They are building all these new houses across the town but there is no sewage infrastructure upgrade.

“It could cost around £150 million for an upgrade but the fines for pollution are significantly less, so as water companies appear to see it, they would rather just pay those and forget about a permanent solution.

“I want them to take responsibility, it’s high time they found a solution better than just dumping raw sewage around the Clyde shoreline where there are kids playing and dogs being walked.”

He added: “It’s disrespectful and disgusting and it’s a danger to people’s health.  We were told last time they wouldn’t do it again but when the tanks at the sewage farm get flooded they just switch on the overflow mechanism and let it flow on to the shore and into the Clyde.”

Jackie Baillie, whose Labour Party are now in power at Westminster and at West Dunbartonshire Council has written to Scottish Water demanding answers.

Meanwhile, responding to new figures sneaked out by the Scottish Government owned water company’s spin doctors a week before the general election showing that there were 3,449 more sewage dumps in 2023 than previously thought, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has called for the Scottish Government to get serious about the crisis of sewage dumping.

Updated figures published on the Scottish Water website on 26th June, showed that there were 25,109 sewage dumps in Scotland in 2023, an increase from the 21,660 originally reported in March and more than double the number of dumps recorded in 2020. The duration of these sewage dumps was 242,367 hours.

Scottish Liberal Democrats have launched plans for a Clean Water Act that would see:

• Scotland’s Victorian sewage network updated;

• Every sewage dump monitored and published with binding targets for their reduction;

• A blue flag system for Scotland’s rivers;

• A complete ban on the release of sewage in protected areas such as bathing waters.

Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “The scandal of sewage dumping in our rivers, lochs and beaches seems to be ever growing in Scotland. Just recently we had Portobello beach shut due to fears around E.coli now Scottish Water tell us there were actually more sewage dumps than previously known about last year.

“Even this new figure of over 25,000 sewage dumps is likely to be a huge underestimate, as unlike England where almost every overflow point is monitored, only a small fraction are monitored in Scotland.

“SNP ministers have defended this for too long. Millions of litres of sewage are being dumped into our rivers, lochs and beaches.

“These figures also leave the environmental credentials of the Scottish Greens in tatters as this record-breaking year of sewage in 2023 dumping occurred on their watch as government ministers.

“To turn the tide on this scandal Scottish Liberal Democrats have proposed plans for a Clean Water Act for Scotland to update the sewage network, proper monitoring to find all the dumping and a complete ban on this filthy practice in protected areas such as bathing waters.”