NEARLY 60% of Scotland’s most popular spots for wild swimming were polluted with high levels of faeces at least once this summer, analysis by The Ferret has found.
Since the start of May, 51 of Scotland’s 89 most visited bathing waters contained unsafe levels of faecal bacteria on at least one occasion when tested by regulators.
Outdoor – or wild – swimming has surged in popularity in recent years and studies show it has benefits for both mental and physical health. It has even been prescribed by some Scottish doctors to patients as a natural way of helping to alleviate mental health problems.
But bathing waters can become contaminated particularly after heavy rain, which causes sewers to overflow and wash animal faeces into them. Swimming in water polluted by sewage can cause stomach upsets, infections to the eyes, ears, chest and skin, and exposure to the Hepatitis A virus.
The highest levels of faecal pollution this summer were found in samples at Ayr’s South Beach, Fisherrow Sands in East Lothian, and Irvine Beach. Each had one sample where E. coli was found at more than 20 times the level at which water quality is considered to be low.
Water at Lower Largo Beach in Fife contained unsafe levels of the bacteria on seven occasions it was tested this summer – more than any other bathing water. Lower Largo also had very high levels of pollution last year.
Opposition politicians and campaigners blamed Scotland’s “Victorian sewage system” and called for it to be updated. Bathing waters polluted with sewage were “bad news for swimmers, pet owners and everyone who loves our coasts”, one claimed.
However, the Scottish Government argued that 85% of Scotland’s bathing waters are currently rated as “good” or “excellent”, and that half a billion pounds was being invested to improve water quality.
Scottish Water said all of the sewer overflows it inspected at bathing waters this year were “working as they should with no issues”. It pointed out that sewage was only one source of faecal pollution, as it could also come from farming, as well as dog and bird poo being washed into the water.
Concerns about pollution at wild swimming spots are widespread across the UK, with raw sewage spills into England’s rivers and seas doubling last year.
Some swimmers and surfers have claimed they are afraid to get into the sea over concerns about sewage discharges.
Scotland's green watchdog the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) carried out testing at 89 bathing waters between the start of May and September 15.
They all have “designated” status, which means they have more than 150 daily visitors and are monitored for sewage pollution to prevent health risks to water users. Swimming spots with fewer than 150 daily visitors are not monitored regularly for pollution, an approach which has previously been branded “unlawful”.
Sepa’s sampling checks for two types of bacteria – E. coli and intestinal enterococci (IE). Both indicate the presence of faeces in water which can come from a number of sources including sewage, livestock, wildlife and pets.
Across Scotland, 108 samples were collected this summer where concentrations of the bacteria exceeded the level at which water quality is considered low and more likely to pose health risks to swimmers.
There were 93 samples which found poor water quality in 2023.
Levels of E. coli were more than 20 times higher than the safe level at Fisherrow Sands in Musselburgh on July 3. It only regained its bathing water status in 2023 after losing it in 2019 due to the poor quality of water over a long period of time.
Similarly high concentrations were found at Ayr’s South Beach and nearby Irvine Beach on August 20.
One of the main causes of pollution there at all three is sewer overflows during heavy rain. Each is currently considered to have “good” water quality overall, a classification calculated by analysing all the samples Sepa takes over a four-year period.
Seven samples exceeded the safe threshold at Lower Largo beach, Fife, where very high concentrations of faecal bacteria were also found in 2023.
Lower Largo was only given bathing water status in 2022 and water quality there has been ranked as “poor” overall by Sepa in the last two years. The regulator issued a warning that water quality at Lower Largo is particularly bad at low tide and when the tide is incoming, and bathing then carries a “higher risk to human health”.
As well as Lower Largo, 25 other bathing waters had more than one sample which contained unsafe amounts of the bacteria.
Thirteen bathing waters currently ranked as “excellent” contained elevated levels of faeces at least once this year.
They included Prestwick Beach in Ayrshire, where E. coli was more than six times safe levels on September 4. The South Beach in Troon had two samples where levels of the bacteria were five times higher, on August 7 and September 4 respectively.
The “excellent” West Sands in St Andrews exceeded the threshold for IE on three occasions between July 3 and August 21.
All three of these beaches are at risk of pollution from sewer overflows after heavy rainfall, especially since Scotland experienced particularly wet weather over the summer.
Scottish Water claimed that the vast majority of water that overflows is not from toilets but is run-off from roads and household appliances like washing machines and dishwashers. Nearly £3 billion has been spent on maintaining and upgrading the drainage system over the last decade, it has said.
Scottish Water told The Ferret that overflows are an important part of the sewer system and are designed as a valve during times of heavy rain to prevent homes and businesses from flooding when sewers are at capacity.
But the environmental watchdog, Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS), said earlier this month that nearly half of the country’s storm overflows released sewage more than 50 times last year.
ESS argued that some sites spilled “much more frequently than should be expected” and there was a “lack of transparent information about the operation and impact of storm overflows in Scotland”.
The campaign group, Surfers Against Sewage, has previously claimed that very low levels of monitoring of sewer overflows in Scotland compared with the rest of the UK means people are left “in the dark” about their performance.
‘Shocking’
THE leader of the Scottish LibDems, Alex Cole-Hamilton, called on ministers to “stop their excuses and toughen up on sewage dumping across Scotland”.
He told The Ferret: “I am extremely concerned that Scotland’s bathing waters risk being ruined by shocking levels of sewage dumping.
“The increasing number of bathing waters polluted by faecal bacteria is bad news for swimmers, pet owners and everyone else who loves our coasts and waterways.”
His concerns were echoed by Scottish Greens MSP Mark Ruskell, who said Scots could not enjoy the “chance to relax and swim in safe, clean water and get closer to nature” while they are polluted by agricultural run-off and sewage overflows.
Ruskell added: “Scottish Water needs to double down on investments to modernise our Victorian sewage system – but we can’t ignore the impact that livestock farming also has on water pollution.
“Farming subsidies must trigger action to protect waterways with tougher regulation and incentives. Restoring riverbank habitats such as woodland can help protect our burns and rivers from livestock pollution which is finding its way into rivers and beaches.”
Scottish Water said Sepa had informed it of 57 “high results” for faecal bacteria in bathing waters.
A spokesperson said: “We carried out root cause analysis, as per our agreed process, and all our assets were working as they should with no issues. Since 2015, we have carried out 226 root cause analyses and only two have shown that our asset contributed to high results.”
Scottish Water has “robust processes” to maintain and monitor overflow sites that discharge into bathing waters “to ensure they perform”, it claimed. The body is “committed to protecting and improving” the condition of Scotland’s rivers, coastal waters and beaches and to improve sewage infrastructure, the spokesperson continued.
They added: “There are many factors that can impact bathing waters, including issues such as diffuse pollution from agricultural land, birds and dog waste such as at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh in July.”
Sepa pointed out that 85% of designated bathing waters across Scotland are classified as “good” or “excellent” and 98% were “sufficient”.
A spokesperson for the regulator said: “Major improvements in water quality have been achieved at bathing water sites that had long-term issues, such as Irvine and Ayr, following projects to upgrade sewage systems, install new treatment and investigate misconnections.
“Two bathing waters – Kinghorn (Harbour) and the recently designated Lower Largo – currently have a ‘poor’ classification and we are targeting improvement measures at these locations.
“Scottish Water has also committed to installing monitors and publishing real-time data on every combined sewer overflow discharging to a bathing or shellfish water. Sepa will ensure this commitment is delivered.”
The Scottish Government pointed out that bathing water quality can be “impacted by a range of bacterial sources following heavy rain and not just sewage, including agricultural land and urban runoff, as well as dog and seagull faeces”.
It pointed out that Scottish Water was committed to installing at least 1000 new monitors on its network by the end of this year.
It added: “We encourage everyone to make use of Sepa’s resources and information to help make an informed decision about where and when to bathe.”
