'Grim' sewage scandal in Scotland as more raw waste in rivers and beaches than realised as only 8% of sewer outfall monitors are checked

The problem is worse than is realised as ministers have failed to take the problem seriously, an environment watchdog has found. Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) said there were thousands of sewage overflow incidents last year, and that nearly half of the country’s storm overflows released sewage more than 50 times.

Of those, a third released sewage at least 100 times, and four sites more than 500 times. Few of these incidents were publicly disclosed; most failed to be justified as exceptional.

“It is clear that some sites spill much more frequently than should be expected”,” the agency said. Unlike in England, where nearly all outflows are monitored, only 8% of Scotland’s are checked.

Alex Cole-Hamilton, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, said these findings “made grim reading” and raised serious questions about the competence of Scottish Water, which is publicly owned, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), which regulates water quality. Scotland’s regulations date back to 1994 and had not been revised since 1998 – the year before the Scottish parliament was set up.

ESS said that if Holyrood wants to keep pace with the EU’s rules, which were updated in April this year, it needs to introduce new, tougher regulations. Mark Roberts, the agency’s chief executive, said ministers also had to publish clear rules on the exceptional circumstances which would allow overflows. Scottish Water and Sepa had to improve their data and monitoring, and have been given six months to respond.

A spokesperson for Scottish Water said: “We will take time to fully consider ESS report’s recommendations and both the Scottish government and Sepa’s responses to the report. However, we are already carrying out work and investing in improvements, in liaison with our environmental regulator, which will do what ESS – which confirms that the majority of discharges are unlikely to lead to environmental pollution – is recommending.”