'It can kill you': The Edinburgh locals fighting to save Portobello from pollution
It is Edinburgh’s most popular bathing destination – and swim groups have mounted a renewed appeal to address what they claim is “disgusting” pollution at Portobello beach.
Community organisations, swim groups and charities have all raised concerns about water quality at the Edinburgh beach, citing problems with faecal matter and claiming it is regularly unsafe to swim at the popular location.
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Hide AdThe issue led to the founding of the Porty Water Collective – a body of individuals, organisations, community groups and charities all committed to protecting the blue spaces in and around Portobello.
Frazer Lang, one of its founders, told The Scotsman the group had started with just three people, only for 50 concerned locals to show up at the first meeting.
He said: “[A total of] 81 per cent of our tests show E. coli and faecal matter above Sepa [Scottish Environment Protection Agency] safe limits, and this is at the same time every week. Sometimes we’ve not had rain for days, sometimes it’s after a big storm. It’s pretty regular we’re getting those tests, regardless of conditions.
“Scottish Water will say they only release sewage in exceptional circumstances, but our tests are suggesting that’s not the case. It’s all the time.
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Hide Ad“They as good as shut down the beach for a few days in July because of something, but they never said what it was. The only statement they came out with was it was due to dogs and seagulls, which seems ridiculous.
“Our frustration is born out of this total lack of interest in what is happening here. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of people in the sea each week, it’s on the tourist trail, and people are getting ill and animals are getting ill from being in the water.
“There is one particular pipe that runs from underneath the swimming pool. There is stuff coming out of it regularly, and we don’t know what it is, and Scottish Water say there’s nothing wrong with it, and we’ve asked Sepa four times and not heard back.”
Mr Lang added: “Given the amount the water is used and the amount of businesses that are suffering, we want to get it on the priority list. Ideally, they’d just stop pumping sewage into the water.”
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Hide AdConcerns were further fuelled after Sepa issued a warning on July 10 advising swimmers to avoid bathing at a section of Portobello beach until further notice.
The advisory was lifted two days later. The environmental agency said testing at the time showed sewage did not cause the surge in bacterial pollution that made the beach unsafe for swimmers.
Concerns have also been raised by Edinburgh Blue Balls, a weekly men’s mental health and cold water dipping group located in Portobello. Its founder Marc Millar said the water was a huge boost to members’ wellbeing, but was now in jeopardy due to uncertainty if it was safe.
He said: “This Sunday 55 of us went down, we meet every Sunday and we do a Thursday night dip as well. That’s quite a lot of men every single week for a year. If there’s ever pollution we just don’t get to do that at all.
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Hide Ad“If the water quality is low, nobody gets a dip and to these guys it means a lot to them to get in the water. It’s important to their wellbeing to get in the water.”
Mr Millar added: “If you go down to the beach, you could probably count over 100 swimmers there every day. So many people are using that for their mental health and it’s like they don’t need to pay for gym membership. If we could get some accurate records each day, that would make everyone’s lives much easier. It’s the not knowing.”
Charlie Allanson-Oddy is a volunteer regional rep with the charity Surfers Against Sewage. He expressed concerns many did not know the risks involved with the water and urged the Scottish Government to invest.
“We are really unhappy, unsatisfied with this,” he said. “Scottish Water is publicly owned, I would have thought that would put us in a position of strength, but that doesn’t seem to have materialised.
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Hide Ad“We are calling for a significant investment from a Government level, through Scottish Water to significantly reduce or stop sewage pollution by 2030.
“We need to bear in mind the risk to the public here, which is very real. The worst case of E. coli is death, it can kill you.”
Chris Murray, Scottish Labour MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, has previously written to Net Zero and Energy Secretary Gillian Martin over the issue.
He said: “Speaking personally, it [Portobello] saved my mental health during lockdown. And it is so important to local people, local businesses, and groups like the Porty Water Collective and Blueballs.
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Hide Ad“That there’s sewage in the water isn’t just unacceptable – it’s disgusting. And we shouldn’t have to tolerate this from the Scottish Government.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “[A total of] 98 per cent of Scotland’s bathing waters currently achieve the bathing water quality standards, with 85 per cent being rated ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.
“Bathing water quality can be impacted by a range of bacterial sources following heavy rain and not just sewage, including agricultural land and urban run-off, as well as dog and seagull faeces. We encourage everyone to make use of Sepa’s resources and information to help make an informed decision about where and when to bathe.
“Scottish Water is taking action and is committing up to £500 million to improve water quality, increase monitoring of the highest priority waters and tackle debris and spills. This includes a commitment to install at least 1,000 new monitors on the network by the end of 2024.”
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Hide AdA Scottish Water spokesperson said: “Scottish Water infrastructure in this area is working as it should. We continue to work closely with our environmental regulators Sepa who carry out sampling of Scotland’s watercourses to ensure there are no environmental impacts from our assets. Where we find we are causing water quality impacts, we look to prioritise investment to mitigate any issues.
“Overflows act as a relief point on our waste water network and are designed specifically to divert storm water so that it doesn’t overwhelm the network and flood people’s homes and businesses. Less than 1 per cent of waste water discharged from the sewer system comes from toilets; it consists mainly of run-off from roads and roofs, and grey water from household appliances.”
The spokesperson added: “Sewer-related debris such as wipes and plastics are a result of people flushing inappropriate items rather than using a bin.”
A Sepa spokesperson said: “Sepa ensure that Scottish Water investment is targeted at areas where it will have the greatest impact. Scottish Water has also committed to installing monitors and publishing near real-time data on every combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharging to a bathing or shellfish water by the end of 2024 and we will ensure this commitment is delivered.
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Hide Ad“We are committed to ensuring all of Scotland’s designated bathing waters meet water quality standards for the benefit of the communities and visitors who use them. We will continue to work with partners and regulated operators to achieve this.”
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