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| Version 6 | Version 7 |
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| Urgent work to stem sewage spill | Urgent work to stem sewage spill |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| Scottish Water say engineers have been working round the clock in a bid to stem the flow of millions of litres of sewage into the Firth of Forth. | Scottish Water say engineers have been working round the clock in a bid to stem the flow of millions of litres of sewage into the Firth of Forth. |
| The major spill was caused by a pump failure at Seafield Wastewater Treatment Plant in Leith on Friday. | The major spill was caused by a pump failure at Seafield Wastewater Treatment Plant in Leith on Friday. |
| It is hoped a new pump can be fitted to stop the overflow by the end of Sunday. | It is hoped a new pump can be fitted to stop the overflow by the end of Sunday. |
| The public has been warned to avoid contact with water as 1,000 litres a second of partially diluted sewage pumps into the Forth. | The public has been warned to avoid contact with water as 1,000 litres a second of partially diluted sewage pumps into the Forth. |
| Beach-goers slam sewage warnings | Beach-goers slam sewage warnings |
| The plant, run by Thames Water, treats sewage for 800,000 people in and around Edinburgh. | The plant, run by Thames Water, treats sewage for 800,000 people in and around Edinburgh. |
| The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said emergency measures to "minimize the risk of pollution" were being put in place and warned the public not to come into contact with the water. | The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said emergency measures to "minimize the risk of pollution" were being put in place and warned the public not to come into contact with the water. |
| Any raw sewage has human pathogens in it which has the capacity to make people ill Gordon GreenhillEdinburgh City Council | Any raw sewage has human pathogens in it which has the capacity to make people ill Gordon GreenhillEdinburgh City Council |
| Peter Farrer, general manager for Scottish Water, said: "There has been a catastrophic failure of one of the large pumps at Seafield which pumps waste water into the treatment works. | Peter Farrer, general manager for Scottish Water, said: "There has been a catastrophic failure of one of the large pumps at Seafield which pumps waste water into the treatment works. |
| "We have had teams of engineers working around the clock to try and rectify this problem. | "We have had teams of engineers working around the clock to try and rectify this problem. |
| "The pumps are on their way and when the pumps are put into place then that will rectify the problem." | "The pumps are on their way and when the pumps are put into place then that will rectify the problem." |
| Mr Farrer said the failure affected just one of the flows going into the treatment works and that Seafield continued to treat the rest of its intake as normal. | Mr Farrer said the failure affected just one of the flows going into the treatment works and that Seafield continued to treat the rest of its intake as normal. |
| He said it was impossible to stop the flow as the system is designed to use the emergency overflow into the Forth when something goes wrong. | He said it was impossible to stop the flow as the system is designed to use the emergency overflow into the Forth when something goes wrong. |
| A pump has to be replaced so the plant can resume full operations | A pump has to be replaced so the plant can resume full operations |
| Mr Farrer insisted that because the effluent was flowing through a screening process, which takes out solid material, "aesthetically you won't see anything from the discharge". | Mr Farrer insisted that because the effluent was flowing through a screening process, which takes out solid material, "aesthetically you won't see anything from the discharge". |
| John Rae, the General Manager of Customer Operations for Scottish Water, explained that the sewage flow would have to be diverted before higher capacity pumps could be installed. | |
| "The line that's coming in where we have the problem is only about a quarter of the total flow that Thames actually treat. Now in saying that, it's still a huge flow that's actually coming in - so they have to be able to divert that fully to stop the emergency overflow from running." | |
| Scottish Water also apologised for any inconvenience to its customers. | |
| Gordon Greenhill, head of community safety at Edinburgh City Council, said the sewage spill raised public health concerns but would not be a long-term environmental problem. | Gordon Greenhill, head of community safety at Edinburgh City Council, said the sewage spill raised public health concerns but would not be a long-term environmental problem. |
| "The volume of sewage going into the Forth estuary is a concern as it has the capacity to come back on to the shore," he said. | "The volume of sewage going into the Forth estuary is a concern as it has the capacity to come back on to the shore," he said. |
| "Any raw sewage has human pathogens in it which has the capacity to make people ill." | "Any raw sewage has human pathogens in it which has the capacity to make people ill." |
| Residents in Leith have been campaigning for years about the smell from the plant and say it is not fit for purpose. | Residents in Leith have been campaigning for years about the smell from the plant and say it is not fit for purpose. |
| Rob Kirkwood, the chairman of Leith Links Residents' Association, said: "It has an infrastructure that is basically Third World technology." | Rob Kirkwood, the chairman of Leith Links Residents' Association, said: "It has an infrastructure that is basically Third World technology." |
Do you live near the Firth of Forth and have you been affected by the spill? Have you been on the waterfront and can you see the effects of the leak?Please send us your comments and experiences using the form below. | Do you live near the Firth of Forth and have you been affected by the spill? Have you been on the waterfront and can you see the effects of the leak?Please send us your comments and experiences using the form below. |