Fife MP presses for urgent action to end contaminated water polluting beach

The local Labour politician met with senior representatives from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and Scottish Water in Kinghorn to demand action for the village’s harbour beach.

Kinghorn Beach was downgraded from ‘sufficient’ bathing water quality to ‘poor’ in 2021, a rating which it has failed to recover from.

It is one of three bathing beaches in Scotland have to the rating, which is the worst possible.

Last month, water sampling results identified a 545 per increase in E. coli and a 120 per cent increase in intestinal enterococci, but it has significantly decreased since then.

In May, Ms Ward and Labour MSP Claire Baker launched the ‘Clean Up Our Coasts’ petition, backed by nearly 250 Kinghorn residents, demanding that more action is taken by Scottish Water to stop sewage water ending up on the beach.

The campaign comes after years of growing calls for action from residents and visitors vulnerable to illness due to the exposure of the contaminated bathing water at Kinghorn Harbour Beach.

Last summer the beach, and nearby Burntisland beach were forced to close by SEPA during the peak tourism season due to unsafe levels of bacterial contamination.

Ms Ward invited senior leaders from SEPA and Scottish Water to visit Kinghorn to get a clear understanding of the problem for themselves.

At the meeting she put forward her constituents’ concerns and experiences of becoming ill after swimming and she heard more about some of the recent works by Scottish Water to resolve the situation.

The MP was pleased to hear that while investigative works have not identified a clear point of contamination, Scottish Water have ramped up efforts to solve the issue. She clearly stated to the officials that residents will not be satisfied until the beach is fully removed of the risk of illness due to contamination.

Speaking after the meeting, Ms Ward said: “Clean water free from sewage is the least we should expect in this day and age.

"While I am pleased that Scottish Water has upped their efforts to investigate the contamination on the Lady Burn, which flows onto our beach at Kinghorn, I know that local residents will be extremely dissatisfied that this important local beach still remains unsafe to use.

"I was alarmed that Scottish Water still does not know what is causing this problem.

"I learned that Kinghorn is one of only three beaches in Scotland where bathing water has been consistently rated as poor. This month high levels of E. coli were found in the water, confirmed as coming from human waste.

"The people of Kinghorn deserve so much better than this. Enough is enough.

“I invited Scottish Water and SEPA here so they could see for themselves the source of the problem, and I welcome their commitment to step up their work and explore more radical solutions.

"I will be writing to the Scottish Government to demand a clear commitment that the required resources will be provided and the work gets done quickly.

"We've had enough of people getting sick after swimming here. Visitors and locals alike should be able to come to Kinghorn, enjoy this beautiful coastline, and swim in clean, safe water.”