Beauty-spot beach loses Blue Flag award over 'sewage' traces

Published on Tuesday 4 August 2009 22:04

ONE of Scotland's top bathing beaches has been stripped of its coveted international Blue Flag status, which it had held for ten years.

Elie Harbour Beach in Fife was one of only seven in Scotland to hold the award run by environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB).

The beach had held the prestigious Blue Flag status for the second-longest time of any beach in Scotland – after Aberdour's Silversands, also in Fife.

However, a series of bathing-sample failures in June and July now mean the flag has been taken down.

Traces of faecal streptococci – usually a sign of sewage pollution – were discovered during tests of bathing water off the coast at Earlsferry and Elie, resulting in failure to meet the standards set out under the European Union's Bathing Water Directive.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) is investigating, with the help of Scottish Water, which operates the sewage system in the area, to try to find out the exact cause of the contamination. Although the beach will be unable to reapply for blue flag status until next year, KSB insisted it was still a safe place to swim. Tests in the past few days reveal standards have returned to "excellent", a spokeswoman said.

Suzanne Roberts, coastal campaigns coordinator for KSB, told The Scotsman: "We are absolutely gutted.

"Every year we lose one or two, but this was a real surprise. It has come totally out of the blue and it's not something we would expect for that beach.

"We are hoping it's a one-off incident that can be solved."

East Neuk and Landward councillor Mike Scott-Hayward said: "This flag has been a boost for visitors to the area for the last ten years and to lose it now is a blow to the tourism industry."

He suggested businesses should seek compensation when the culprit is discovered.

Councillor Elizabeth Riches added: "Elie is such a beautiful, family beach, it's safe and there are lots of activities around. I would hope we will get our flag back as soon as possible."

A spokesman for Scottish Water said: "We would like to reassure local people and businesses that we take our responsibility for the environment very seriously and want to assure them that we are doing everything we can to maintain excellent water quality at Elie."

Fife Council beach and coastal officer Robbie Blyth said there could be many reasons for the failed water samples, but the Sepa investigation would shed light on the cause.

He added: "Obviously, we are disappointed because of the hard work by the community and the council in keeping the Blue Flag award for ten years."

Six Scottish beaches now hold blue flag status – Aberdour Silversands, Burntisland, Elie Ruby Bay (Woodhaven) and St Andrews West Sands, all in Fife; and Dundee, Broughty Ferry and Montrose, in Angus.