Sewage: Cole-Hamilton comments on 50 out of 89 of Scotland’s bathing waters breaching safety limits

Responding to an investigation published by The Ferret which found that more than half of Scotland’s most popular beaches for wild swimming were polluted with unsafe levels of sewage this summer, including Lower Largo beach in Fife where faecal bacteria was found to be 50 times the legal limit due to sewer overflows, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

“This shows the SNP and Greens are letting the Government-owned water company off the hook for dumping sewage into our rivers, lakes and beaches.

“It’s time ministers stopped excusing these filthy practices when levels of faecal bacteria on our beaches are reaching 50 times the safe limit. No wonder people are thinking twice before dipping their toes in.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats are leading the calls for all sewage discharges to be recorded and published to uncover the true scale of the problem, legally-binding targets to tackle sewage dumping and measures to upgrade Scotland's Victorian sewage systems. It’s time to end the sewage scandal.”