Kinghorn water pollution: ‘we will not let this go on’ pledge after Scottish Water CEO visit

Alex Plant was in the Fife town on Friday at the invite of Melanie Ward, MP for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy.

He promised that even if the beach is deregulated - because of the poor water quality - he would not allow it to carry on, and was committed to fixing the problem.

And he set out a 12 month timeline for when residents can expect to hear progress on the issue.

Mr Plant collected the petition during his visit to the harbour where met Ms Ward along with Claire Baker MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, and Alan McIlravie, a former Provost and long-time local water quality campaigner, and James Wheare from Kinghorn Coastal Rowing Club.

His visit followed a public meeting in summer attended by over 100 concerned locals.

Residents had been left worried that the de-designation would have meant that the recent work to prevent sewage spilling onto the beach would slow down.

Scottish Water has been aware of contamination leaks at the Lady Burn for over a decade, and ratings at Kinghorn Beach have been ‘poor’ for the last four years. A fifth such rating, which is anticipated this year, would lead to the beach losing its bathing water status.

On his visit, Mr Plant committed to fixing the pollution spills into the bathing waters and pledged: “it does not matter if the beach is de-designated, we will not let this carry on.”

That was welcomed by Ms Ward who branded the situation “unsustainable and unacceptable.”

She said: “It’s unacceptable that Kinghorn residents have had to put up with this for so many years. My petition, signed by more than 1,000 locals, shows just how strong the feeling is here.

“I’m pleased that Alex Plant came to see the problem for himself for the first time and hear directly from residents about the very real impact this is having on our community. I’m also pleased that he gave a public commitment to fix the sewage leak, come what may.

“The situation is unsustainable and unacceptable, and work must rapidly continue to ensure that this issue is resolved once and for all.”

The impact of the poor water quality on the town was underlined to Mr Plant by former Provost McIlravie, Mr Wheare.

Mr McIlravie said: “The impact of the poor water quality at Kinghorn Beach is real, and it’s unfortunate that the situation has gone on for so long.

“It’s not just cold-water swimmers that this affects, treasured local events like the Loony Dook, tourists, local businesses and organisations all feel the impact.

“I was pleased to hear about the work Scottish Water is now doing to rectify the issue, and their public commitment to explore more radical solutions if the source of the sewage leak cannot be found.

“I’m grateful to Melanie Ward and Claire Baker for their work in leading this campaign, and for putting the pressure on Scottish Water to deliver the changes Kinghorn deserves.”

. Investigative works across the Kingdom have increased significantly since pressure has been applied by the politciain’s campaign, with almost every property now receiving dye testing to check for sewage leaks.

But, despite the extensive recent works, a source of the contamination in the Kinghorn Burn has not yet been found.

Scottish Water has said that it will complete its investigative works in the next 12 months, and will explore more radical measures such as transferring the water to a waste treatment facility should the source not be found.

> David Torrance MSP for Kirkcaldy also met with Scottish Water officials last week to discuss the issue.

“I welcomed their commitment to identifying the source of the problem and finding a lasting solution. Testing will continue throughout the winter months to help establish what is causing these issues and inform the action needed to address them,” he said.