Scottish Water has issued an apology after “shocking” sewage which left locals feeling queasy appeared across an Aberfeldy street. A blocked sewer has, once again, caused a road drain to leak untreated sewage onto Taybridge Drive in the Highland Perthshire town.
Local Conservative councillor John Duff called on Scottish Water to investigate the problem as a matter of urgency. And his SNP counterpart Bailie Mike Williamson has also been pushing for greater intervention.
On at least three occasions since an initial incident was reported on February 23, raw sewage has been spewing out of the roadside drain, running along the street and pooling across the road nearby to Wades Bridge and the popular Black Watch Monument.
A blockage was cleared on Monday, March 6. A further blockage occurred on Thursday, March 9. Residents encountered the unpleasant sight of effluent and used toilet paper flowing out of the drain again.
It flooded onto the street and ran along the gutter for about 150 yards before becoming a large pool, crossing to the other side of the road and entering a further road drain near to the junction with Taybridge Road. But frozen ground has hampered a proper clear up and road crews will have to return when the weather warms up.
A Taybridge Drive resident commented: “We live in such a nice spot looking out on the river. People come to see the soldier statue, they really don’t want to find this mess. The sewage formed a pool by the pavement going quite a distance.
"They [Scottish Water] should have cordoned off the area affected as soon as they found out about it to prevent unsuspecting cars and people from going through it. I haven’t heard anything about why it’s happening or how they’re trying to fix it.”
Baillie Mike Williamson shared pictures of the mess and told our sister title the Perthshire Advertiser local people were feeling “queasy.” He questioned if the drain has enough capacity and said recent incidents were “really unpleasant.”
Conservative Highland Ward Councillor Duff warned that for it to have happened three times since late February suggests there is a bigger problem lurking below.
Cllr Duff said: “This has become more than just a blocked drain. To have happened so often in the same place in such a short space of time would suggest that there is a bigger problem here which merely jetting the pipes is not solving.
“I have spoken with Scottish Water asking them to carry out a larger investigation in the area and get to the bottom of this problem as soon as possible. The state of the street when this happens is totally unacceptable and very unpleasant for residents, pedestrians and visitors to this tourist area of town.
“Cars drive through the waste and splash it onto the pavements, the verges, people’s driveways and boundary walls, not to mention the mess it will make of their cars. I understand that after they cleared the blockage, the last crew were unable to carry out a CCTV exploration of the sewer due to its size.
“However, for public health reasons, Scottish Water need to investigate this as a matter of urgency, identify why this is happening so regularly and get it fixed and I will continue to seek that assurance until it is done.”
A spokesperson for Scottish Water said: “Operatives have carried out additional work at Taybridge Drive in Aberfeldy in response to further sewer flooding in the area. Due to repeat blockages a squad were on-site Thursday, and further investigations including CCTV survey work will be arranged in order to locate and clear the obstruction.
“We would like to apologise for the inconvenience and distress caused, but take the opportunity to remind people of our Nature Calls campaign which asks our customers not to flush wipes and other inappropriate items down the toilet, helping to protect the environment and communities by preventing sewers becoming blocked.”
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