'Absolutely honking': More than 2,000 complaints of sewage dumping made in Scotland

More than 2,000 complaints of sewage were made to Scotland’s environment watchdog in the past three years.

Since 2022, 2,081 complaints were made to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), including 196 so far in 2025.

Edinburgh, Lothian and the Borders recorded the highest number of complaints about sewage spills, with 443 in the past three years - 43 were made in the first three months of this year.

The issue surrounding sewage was highlighted during First Minister’s Questions by Scottish Liberal Democrats | Getty Images/iStockphoto

There were 268 complaints in south-west Scotland, 265 in Falkirk, Alloa, Stirling and Perth, 327 in Fife, Angus and Dundee, 222 in Greater Glasgow and Clyde Estuary, 199 in Grampian and Speyside, 187 in Argyll, Hebrides and the south Highlands, 168 in Lanarkshire and 75 in the north Highlands and northern isles.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton lays the blame for this “honking” problem squarely at the doors of the SNP government, claiming that the publicly-owned Scottish Water is to blame.

The Steamie newsletter brings unrivalled political analysis - subscribe here

Speaking at first minister’s questions, he said: “Sanitary towels and wet wipes on the beach at North Berwick, raw sewage in Gala, a beach covered in thick brown discharge in Dumfries and Galloway, the River Almond making swimmers sick, paddle boarders covered in sewage in the River Tay - today on World Environment Day, the Scottish Lib Dems are publishing new research showing thousands of complaints from members of the public about sewage.

“Sewage that is, I quote, ‘absolutely honking’ in Dingwall.

“Songs were written about Scotland being the land of the shining river.

“Does the First Minister mind that his government’s own water company is dumping so much sewage into them?”

Alex Cole-Hamilton is MSP for Edinburgh Western

Mr Swinney disputed this, saying 87 per cent of Scotland’s water had been assessed as “high” or “good” quality by Sepa, which is an increase from 82 per cent in 2014.

Mr Cole-Hamilton then highlighted that Thames Water in England had recently been fined £100 million for sewage dumping, but said there were “never any consequences” for this in Scotland.

He asked: “Is that because the First Minister knows it is actually his government that’s at fault for this absolutely honking problem?”

Join Katharine Hay on her walk around Scotland - subscribe to her weekly newsletter

In response, Mr Swinney said: “What’s absolutely honking is Mr Cole-Hamilton’s attempt to conflate the situation in Scotland and the operation of one of the strongest assets in our country, the publicly-owned water network, with Thames Water.

“The privatisation of water in England has been an unmitigated disaster for people in England and Wales and I thank our predecessors for not taking such a foolish decision in the first place.

“It is not perfect but we have a very high quality natural environment and it is not a good advert for Mr Cole-Hamilton to undermine the strength of our natural environment when we are spending £500m on improving water quality, and then compare it to the folly that is privatisation in England and Wales.”