Soaring temperatures have seen crowds flocking to a beauty spot on the banks of the River Almond recently - but not enough to convince Scotland’s environmental watchdog to grant bathing water quality status.
In 2021 the Council Executive approved a proposal to support an application to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) for bathing waters designation, for a 400-metre stretch of the River Almond within Almondell and Calderwood Country Park.
No river in Scotland currently enjoys that status, and it is only applied to some beaches. Despite this the Almond remains the go-to spot when the temperatures rise.
The section of river Almond is widely used, particularly during warm weather conditions, by dog-owners, young people, kayakers and anglers. The application was inspired by the success of campaigners who had recently secured bathing waters designation for a reach of the River Wharfe at Ilkley, West Yorkshire.
The application was prepared by Forth Rivers Trust in liaison with officers from NETS, Land & Countryside Services and enjoyed the support of activists from the River Almond Action Group (RAAG).
Graeme Hedger, Senior Engineer, Flood Risk Management, for the council told a meeting of the Environment PDSP: “No river in Scotland has bathing status. The application could be seen as a bit mischievous, but it was a useful way of raising the issue of water quality up the political agenda.”
He praised the activity of the Almond action group for its ongoing campaign to promote cleaner waters.
RAAG has a campaign on social media calling on locals to reclaim the river. RAAG says: “People do swim and paddle in the river Almond. Getting designated bathing waters would improve the quality of the River Almond. You can help by taking photos in or near the River and tagging them with the hashtags £RiverReclaim and £AlmondSwim.”
In May the council received an email from SEPA’s Public Affairs Manager sent on behalf of Nathan Critchlow-Watton, State of Environment Unit Manager and Chair of the SEPA’s Bathing Waters Review Panel.
Whilst the application demonstrated community support the evidence provided for Almondell ‘did not demonstrate a large number of users’, which is a key factor in considering designation.
SEPA had written to the Minister to convey the Panel’s recommendation on designation. As a consequence, the minister decided not to designate Almondell as a bathing water.
Mr Hedger said it was SEPAs responsibility to carry out water quality monitoring, and agreed with PDSP chair Tom Conn that ministers might have been cautious about agreeing to bathing status because of the site’s proximity to a water treatment plant.
“The onus is on SEPA to demonstrate the water quality is acceptable,” said Mr Hedger. Answering questions from Councillor Kirsteen Sullivan, he added that monitoring usually followed incidents of discharges from water treatment plants but it was not affordable to carry out regular monitoring.
More money is being spent on water treatment. Mr Hedger pointed out that the East Calder works is one of the most modern, “high functioning and extremely good” at its job.
Councillor Diane Calder said: “A big shout out to RAAG who raised this. Will we have to wait until these issues are addressed to make another application?”
Mr Hedger said increased funding was coming. Although details of investment had yet to be fleshed out, there are always modifications that can be made to treatment processes.
A spokesperson for SEPA said the Minister for Environment and Land Reform, Mairi McAllan, has not designated Almondell on the River Almond as a Scottish bathing water for the 2022 season.
They added: “Local outdoor spaces are integral to our physical and mental health and managing them well can improve well-being and other social and cultural benefits for local communities and visitors alike.
“SEPA remains committed to taking an active approach to reducing pollution incidents by delivering significant environmental improvements in the Almond catchment. In addition, it has been a constructive participant in the River Almond Water Quality Improvement Group since its inception in June 2021.
“The regulator has agreed with Scottish Water that upgrades in seven wastewater treatments works and spill reduction measures on five combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are required, along with significant investment to address sewage litter from unsatisfactory CSOs.
“Intelligent monitoring of sewer overflows in the East Calder catchment, which will lead to better understanding of what can be done to reduce spills was set out in Scottish Water’s Improving Urban Waters route map. This will also enable near real-time data to be provided to the public from 2024.”
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