Cole-Hamilton: Scottish Water must ensure no gaps in sewage monitoring
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today called on the Scottish Government to "plug the holes" in Scotland's sewage dumping data, as new analysis by his party revealed that Scottish Water does not record the number of faults with monitors, despite 84.5% of sewage overflow monitors in 2023 lacking a full 365 days’ worth of data.
Updated figures published on the Scottish Water website on 26th June, showed that there were 25,109 sewage dumps in Scotland in 2023, more than double the number of dumps recorded in 2020. However, this figure is likely to be a significant underestimate due to the limited monitoring carried out.
Analysis of Scottish Water figures shows that in 2023 there were 670 overflows with permanent event duration monitoring - a process which tracks the frequency and duration of their overflows. Of these, 84.5% lacked a full 365 days’ worth of 2023 data, and in total there were 150,000 days of missing data.
When asked for the number of faults with event duration monitors since 2020, Scottish Water responded that it "does not record the number of faults and the specific reason for the faults for Event Duration Monitors".
Alex Cole-Hamilton said:
"Scotland is still lagging miles behind England on sewage monitoring. To make matters worse, we’ve uncovered that existing monitors aren’t working round-the-clock and that Scottish Water doesn’t record how many are faulty.
"Communities across Scotland will be rightly worried that they do not have the full picture around sewage dumping. Scottish ministers need to stop their excuses and get tough on sewage dumping by the government-owned water company.
"They should ensure that going forward they plug the holes in their data and urgently accelerate efforts to ensure that every sewage dump in Scotland is monitored and recorded.
"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."