Tag: Seafield Sewage Works

Seafield Terms of Reference agreed

On behalf of the CC I attended a meeting at the Scottish Government at Victoria Quay on 1st August. Also in attendance were Ben MacPherson MSP, Rob Kirkwood from Leith Links Residents Association (LLRA), Prof R Jackson and SG civil servants.
Scottish Water have appointed consultancy firm, Amec, Foster Wheeler to carry out the strategic review of Seafield Waste Water Treatment Plant and the sewage network which supplies Seafield. The firm have been chosen to give an independent evaluation and have no financial connection to the plant and would not benefit financially from their report by awards of contracts if work was required.
Our meeting was to agree the terms of reference so that the consultants can gather information on the state of Seafield and we hope that they will be able to present their findings within 6 months but will also be in the position to give an interim report on progress to the Seafield steering group in October. The CC and Residents Association have asked to meet separately with the consultants in late September so that we can voice any concerns.
The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Roseanna Cunningham has ordered this review and at the meeting our local MSP Ben emphasised again that odour issues at Seafield have become a priority for the government.
The terms of reference instruct the consultants to undertake a detailed evidence based review of the operation, design and maintenance of the plant with a direct focus on the way odour is managed and to reduce as far as practicable odour nuisance under all operating and weather conditions .Using analysis of appropriate odour generation and dispersion statistics.

They will consult with community groups and relevant stakeholders (Scottish Water, SEPA, City Council) to gather information on our perspectives and what we want to achieve. The consultants have already met with LLRA and I plan to meet with them next week. They will also want to speak to members of the public about how odour nuisance from Seafield impacts on their lives.
When the review is completed the consultants will provide recommendations on improvements to infrastructure, repair, replacement or enhancement on the site.
In plain language this means that if capital investment is required the consultants will identify the areas where work could be carried out and how much each option may cost.
Reviews have been carried out at Seafield in the past but nuisance odours have continued because of lack of investment. Both Leith Links CC and LLRA have agreed the terms of reference for this latest review with some changes in wording.
We also gave our support to the review with some reservations and concerns that as in the past only the cheapest options will be considered. Over the following months I will keep you updated on progress as the consultation continues. Jim

Leave a comment , , , , ,

Seafield enquiry goes ahead

This week, representatives from both the Leith Links Community Council and the Leith Links Residents Association met with Scottish Government to discuss and finalise the Terms of Reference for the forthcoming independent review of the Seafield Sewage plant. Consultants are already gathering data from all Seafield stakeholders, including members of the community. As a next step, they will set out and cost all possible ways of minimising the odour nuisance from Seafield, and Scottish Government will eventually make decisions about which they will fund and implement. We welcome the fact that for the first time there appears to be political will at government level (and hopefully some funding, attached to it) to make something happen to improve the situation.

Fingers crossed!

We will keep you posted, as the review proceeds.

Leave a comment , , ,

Update on the ‘Seafield Stench’

by Jim Scanlon

On Tuesday, 20th June, as Chair of Leith Links Community Council, I attended a meeting with Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, regarding the ongoing odour emissions at Seafield Sewage Plant.

Also attending the meeting were Rob Kirkwood, Chair of the Leith Links Residents Association (LLRA), Ben Macpherson MSP, Professor Rob Jackson, a scientific expert who advises LLRA, Rob Munn, advisor to Ben MacPherson, and Scottish Government Civil Servants and special advisors.

The Cabinet Secretary was questioned about the CREW (Centre of expertise for waters) report on Odour Management and monitoring in Scottish wastewater treatment plants that was commissioned by Scottish Government.  The report said that odours are rare, sites are managed effectively, local councils and SEPA enforce regulations and that legislation governing sewage works is fit for purpose and doesn’t need changed.

We disagreed profoundly and suggested that the minister had been poorly briefed about Scotland’s sewage works.

Professor Jackson, appointed by Scottish Water to work with the community, said that in terms of academic research, the report was deeply flawed and the conclusions of the report were unsound:  information had been gathered only by sending questionnaires to a small sample of sewage work managers, council employees and SEPA. There had been no independent enquiries, no site visits and no consultation with the local populations. Some technical information was incorrect.

The Minister seemed sympathetic and after further discussion over the odour nuisance, possible causes, and the future effects of climate change, Ms. Cunningham has ordered a strategic review of Seafield, and of the existing Code of Practice and legislation governing odour emissions..

Terms of Reference for this review have been drawn up but we feel they have not gone far enough so we have since written to Scottish Government with our concerns (also raised by Leith Links Residents Association).

We feel that the review should not just focus on Seafield as the Code of Practice covers the whole of Scotland, and there are known problems in other plants. Also, the proposed Terms of Reference specify looking at the operation, design and management of Seafield i.e. focusing on how they ‘manage’ odours. But at the last stakeholder meeting both Veolia, who operate Seafield, and City of Edinburgh Council Public Health officials acknowledged that not only management improvements but also investment and changes in infrastructure are needed. The terms of reference should therefore include assessing the costs of covering the sewage tanks at Seafield and similar plants throughout Scotland to eliminate odours for good, rather than just to ‘minimize’ them.

Once the Terms of Reference for the review are agreed, a tender will be put out for an independent firm of constructional engineering consultants, to look at the plant procedures and equipment and to estimate the capital investment required.

Leith Links Community Council will continue to represent the community, working with LLRA, to monitor events closely, make sure the review is done quickly but professionally and that conclusions are acted on.

 

Leave a comment , ,

Are you affected by the Seafield stink?

Many residents within our area have reported that they have been adversely affected by nuisance foul odours from the Seafield Waste Water Treatment Works operated by Scottish Water and Veolia Water UK.

Leith Links Community Council is aware of these concerns and we are members of the Seafield Stakeholders Group which meets regularly to discuss matters relating to the works.

We would encourage any residents who are adversely affected by nuisance foul odours from the works to ensure that this is reported, at the time, on each and every occasion. We cannot underestimate the importance of this.

We have previously distributed leaflets (pictured) to households in our area encouraging people to report any foul odours.

Please report sewage type smells to the City of Edinburgh Council using these details:

Please report burning rubber type smells to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency:

  • 0800 80 70 60 (24 hours, 7 days)
Leave a comment , , , , ,
1 … 4 5 6