sewerage stench ??

[lynne duncan]

why if scottish water have installed a brand new waste water treatment plant at the broadhaven point at a cost of x amount ( cannot remember how much it cost £000's if not more) because the old one did not meet EU reg's or whatever. Could they not have installed one that worked!! The stench that is emanating from the plant is horrendous, over the weekend the aroma was carried as far as our house which is only three houses from the Broadhaven nursing home, so surely it wasn't only my family that were forced to endure it. I know the weather wasn't that great but try explaining to the 3 bairns why you don't want them to go out and play, because that stench I think would have been enough to make them ill TOXIC WARFARE hasn't got a lookin compared to that
On Monday morning I phoned Scottish Water and complained, they assured me that they would pass my message on and duly the local manny phoned me back, and agreed that it was a bad state of affairs and informed me that a report had been done on the plant and seemingly there have a number of DESIGN errors found !!!!
Now if this is the case how was this plant allowed to have gone operational, i know there have been other complaints put in about the smell, and seemingly a house owner has gone as far as involving a solicitor.
If anyone else has had to endure this disgusting infringement on there noses enjoyment of what should be pleasent smelling Caithness fresh air - Please comment or better still phone Scottish water and Complain

[golach]

Lynne,
the best of luck with your case against Scottish water and the sewage stench.
We have the same problem in Edinburgh, its know locally as the "Portobello Pong", we have had this problem for many many years.
The sewage treatment plant at Seafield has never been a success and has allegedly been updated at mega pounds costs, but the truth so far is that it just does not work.
Our esteemed council say its is not their fault and pushes the blame on Scottish Water and believe it or believe it not....for Edinburgers for flushing solid objects such as disposable nappies down the loo. Scottish Water on the other hand say it is not their problem as the sewage plant now belongs to Thames Water.
It seems to have become a " Catch 22" situation
Golach

[Anonymous]

I was at the Wick community council meeting when the bloke with the plans for the place told everyone that there would be absolutely no smell, I guess he lied. I was suprised at the time that no one was objecting. A few other installations were discused with him regarding their smell, Inverness was one I remember being mentioned, he basically said that this would be a new design and smell was no longer an issue.

I know that if the works had been planned for the other side of the bay, I would have objected, but we were convinced of the no-smell aspect and yes we would all like our waste to be treated before it's dumped at sea.

Perhaps anyone seeking legal action should seek out the minutes of that community council meeting and see if they contain any "promises" from Scottish Water.

[grmacken]

promises meen nothing after the planning permission is given and place built. The one in aberdeen stinks as well, hate to think how much your property prices have fallen because of it. good luck, you will need it.

[Seabird]

I've not been near one that does not stinks worse than my dirty socks.
The question should be asked is who allowed it to be built near an housing estate?
I've lived 3 miles from a sewage works and you could not sit in your garden for the smell, the only thing worse is a glue factory.
They told us it was the fermentation tanks, the smell only stopped when they closed down the plant and rebuilt it further away.
Not much chance of that happening in this case i fear.

[daviddd]

The council environmental health dept. have powers to force the perpetrators of such smells to clean up their act - try complaining to them too, the more bodies involved, the better I would say.

[concerned resident]

The unlucky residents of Thurso are next in line for a new smelly sewerage treatment works, it is going to be located at the entrance to Thurso Bay,at Thurso east on an exposed and remote coastal edge, 1-5km from the centre of town,( scottish water state it will hardly be noticeable)
The first thing that any tourist on the ferry, or cruise ship will see, will be the prominant buildings,at the entrance to Thurso Bay, and going by Wicks experience maybe the smell.Anybody interested in complaining do not write to your local MP, as he is selling the ground to Scottish Water. I have written a letter of objection, and i am going to e-mail our councillers, but going by the way they are rubber stamping the wind mills sites, probabley a waste of time.They seam to be doing more for the Highland Clearances than the Duke of Sutherland did. Whats in the best interests of Caithness, should come first, not Inverness or Westminster.There are other less prominant sites available, but this green field site is the cheap option, rather than a brown field site at Murkle Bay, which has been empty for years, and well out of the way.The Tourists run to Orkney now, because of Dounreay, in the future they will have to hold their nose, when they stop laughing.

[scotsboy]

I would like to see the evidence that tourists flock to Orkney because of Dounreay. It ma be that the tourist industry in Orkney has its act together.......unlike Caithness.

[daviddd]

I would like to see the evidence that tourists flock to Orkney because of Dounreay. It ma be that the tourist industry in Orkney has its act together.......unlike Caithness. Correct!

[lynne duncan]

any thurso resident who lives within a mile or so of the proposed sewerage development in thurso should take a small trip to wick because just one whiff or what we are having to contend with will be enough to make them object in no uncertain terms, and also they should make sure that the plans being used are not the same ones that they used for the wick unit - ie containing design flaws!!!

[concerned resident]

i have been trying to gather information on who is responsible for taking action against scottish water for any odour emissions, not being an expert it appears that any sewerage coming through the sewerage pipe to the plant, is the responiblity of the environmental health. Sewerage being lifted by lorry from a septic tank and taken to plant for treatment, and then probabley disposed of by contractors on to agricultural
fields, is the responsiblity of SEPA. If you complain of a smell when the new Thurso treatment plant is up and running, you can see them passing the buck (its not us its them) and (its not us its them) Wick might end up the ones better of, as the ones responsible for their smell inforcement is the environmental health.

[lynne duncan]

Hmmmm! it appears the power of technology and discussion on caithness.org can stir a big wooden spoon in many a corner and it also appears that Scottish Water read the General Forum section as well.
Is this where the local reporters source their stories?
Scottish Water phoned on Wednesday wonder if they had planned to phone or if it was just after reading the newspapers that they thought it would be common courtesy to keep us updated, the spokeswoman (bless her she was up in Wick to speak to the residents on Tuesday (and this was her first time in Wick hope the smell does not deter her from returning)) said what had been written on the forum (see next bit - that quoting from Niall "I was at the Wick community council meeting when the bloke with the plans for the place told everyone that there would be absolutely no smell, I guess he lied. I was suprised at the time that no one was objecting") was not correct as they would not have been able to guarantee no smell!!! but the whoevers who are now involved in carrying out the modifications to the plant should be finished by Christmas.
Well thats roughly 15 weeks so I'll wait and see what happens and continue to hold my nose in the meantime, but maybe I'll phone SEPA for information on the hazards of inhaling that smell just to continue stirring the wooden spoon...

[daviddd]

apparently the Scottish Exec are about to change the law to make it easier for Scottish water to be forced to do something about such smells, it seems they are very common all over Scotland and the Uk!

[JAWS]

Don't expect any sensible response from any of the organisations involved, all you will get is bluff and bluster.

As daviddd says, it's not just a local problem it's Country wide.
There was a discussion on Radio Scotland some months back and the reactions to the problem of sewage disposal was just to make excuses for everything that was wrong.

One place on the West Coast was complaining because a planned upgrade to an outlet was to the same place where the problem already existed.
Solution? Don't worry, It won't happen in future.

When pressed on the answer because the outlet was in an area popular for both boating and swimming the answer was that a careful study had been carried out and boaters and swimmers did not use the area concerned.

Local people disputed this and questioned how and when the study had been carried out.

It turned out that nobody had even visited the place to see what was happening and where.
It was just an arbitrary decision made by somebody looking at a map and drawing a boundary where they thought it ought to be!