Sewage not the cause of pollution on Scottish beach

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) stated that sewage was not the cause of the bacterial pollution that made Portobello beach unsafe for swimmers.

On July 10th, Sepa issued a warning advising swimmers to avoid a section of the beach.

Further sampling on July 11th showed that the water quality had returned to normal, indicating a short-lived event with no lasting impact.

Sepa mentioned that long-term sampling of water at the site revealed that the main sources of pollution were human, dog, and gull waste.

After conducting microbial source tracking (MST) tests, the advisory against swimming at the beach was lifted on July 12th. MST uses DNA-based techniques to identify the sources of bacteria in water. A senior manager at Sepa, emphasized that beachgoers can help maintain water quality by picking up litter to prevent gulls from feeding and cleaning up after dogs.

While MST can be useful in pinpointing pollution sources, in this case, the analysis of one sample did not identify a specific source.

The results, along with the absence of issues in Scottish Water assets in the area, suggest that the incident was not related to sewage.

Sepa will continue to conduct water sampling throughout the bathing season as part of routine testing and will take action to address any pollution sources identified. Weekly water quality tests at bathing sites, along with results and predictions, are available online.