Cleaning up their act to help the dolphins

Published on Wednesday 24 September 2008 22:30

PEOPLE living near a population of bottlenose dolphins may have been helping to store up an environmental problem for the creatures.

For years, raw sewage from homes in North Kessock, near Inverness, has been pumped into the Moray Firth, where one of only two UK groups of the dolphins live.

The village's 2,000-strong population is due to expand and it was feared that eventually the waste could harm the dolphins and other wildlife in the firth, including porpoises and seals.

But a new 3.8 million Scottish Water project means the sewage is now taken through a seabed pipeline to a treatment works to be cleaned up to protect the sensitive environment.

Kenny Taylor, a wildlife writer and broadcaster, who lives in the Black Isle, said: "We know that not everything that goes down the drain is that benign, so reducing the pollution has to be a very good idea.

"There has been no direct evidence of the sewage having an effect, but what is known from across the world is a lot of pollution that comes down our sewers is very slow acting and insidious for wildlife. Predators like a bottlenose dolphin build up chemical nasties in their body fat. In times of stress, they use that body fat and they can get hit by a really high-intensity wallop of toxins.

"That hasn't happened here as far as we know, but it's as well to be precautionary. It could have been storing up a problem for the future."

He went on: "It is a relief that there have not been problems here in the past, but that is a reflection that the rest of the environment is in reasonably good heart."

Mr Taylor said beluga whales had been dying in Canada after having to activate body fat that was full of pollutants that had come from sewers.

Ben Leyshon, an area officer with Scottish Natural Heritage, said the pipeline would help to further improve water quality in the area. "The Beauly and Inverness Firths are nationally and internationally recognised for the special wildlife present, including dolphins and birds. These firths also provide a passage for migratory fish.

"The pipeline was the most environmentally friendly solution to help clean up the firths and it provides a long-term solution to sewage disposal in this area," he said.

Sheila Campbell-Lloyd, Scottish Water's regional manager for the Highlands, said the previous set-up was not environmentally sustainable, nor was it allowing the community to develop.

"This pipeline will make a great difference," she said. We're proud of the role we play in protecting the Highlands' great environment. We are also enabling economic development, allowing communities such as North Kessock to grow and thrive."

The 900-metre pipeline is designed to withstand minor earthquakes. Like the Kessock Bridge, it straddles the Great Glen fault line and has been designed with a degree of flexibility to cope with tremors.