Scottish Liberal Democrats launch plans to end SNP’s sewage scandal

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton and deputy leader Wendy Chamberlain have today said the SNP Government is "neck-deep in failure" as they launched their party’s plans to clamp down on sewage dumping in Scotland's rivers during a campaign visit to the River Almond.

Research by the party shows that sewage was dumped in the River Almond for a total of 148 hours in 2023 alone. This figure could be much higher as only one part of the river is monitored for sewage overflows. Residents living near the Almond claim that the water has become discoloured, stating that “foaming and fungus” had appeared in its surface.

Across Scotland, there were more than 21,000 sewage dumps logged in 2023 alone, up from 19,676 in 2022. However, the problem is likely to be far worse because only a small fraction of sewage discharges are monitored.

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.

The proposals for Scotland are part of a UK-wide campaign by the Liberal Democrats to clean up waterways and get governments to take action.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“Sewage is being dumped into our waters 59 times a day but the SNP just don't seem to care.

“SNP ministers have become spin doctors for the government-owned water company and outdated standards. Bosses are taking home bumper bonuses while millions of litres of sewage gets dumped into our rivers, lochs and beaches.

“All across the UK, Liberal Democrats are the only party who have a plan to get the sewage out of our rivers and off our beaches. We want 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.

“People are sick of governments neck-deep in failure who just can’t get the basics right. Every Scottish Liberal Democrat you elect will be a local champion focused on cleaning up the sewage scandal."