Human waste flowing into Loch Leven and spilling over paths is “part of the normal operation of any large sewage works”, according to the Scottish Government.
Raw sewage poured into the loch and streamed over footpaths during heavy rain on September 8.
A senior staff member at NatureScot, who works at the Loch Leven wildlife reserve, said human waste was “pouring out of the sewage works” during the incident.
“Cyclists are cycling through raw sewage and dogs are walking through it,” he added.
Kinross Lib Dem councillor Willie Robertson challenged the Scottish Government environment minister Màiri McAllan over the “serious pollution incident”.
A Scottish Government official answered on her behalf.
He told Mr Robertson: “If heavy rainfall is prolonged the storm tank will eventually overflow via screens, to remove the solid debris, discharging primary treated (sic) to the water environment as occurred on 8 September.
“This is licenced by Sepa and part of the normal operation of any large sewage works.”
Mr Robertson shared the response ahead of a debate in Holyrood about the publicly-owned company Scottish Water using the loch like an “open sewer”.
The councillor said: “It can’t be acceptable to the government that Scottish Water discharge raw sewage into Loch Leven given the growing problems with the loch,” he said.
What are the ongoing problems at Loch Leven?
Sepa classifies Loch Leven as “moderate” for water quality.
Yet blue-green algae blooms have been a problem at the loch for years.
The algae has the potential to become toxic and can pose a danger to dogs and humans – sewage in the loch is a potential contributor for this algae.
There are a series of protection statuses in place to protect the Loch Leven nature reserve.
Loch Leven is a Ramsar site – a wetland of international importance.
But according to the Lib Dems, the continual discharges of sewage into the loch prove these protections “count for nothing”.
Loch Leven being used as ‘an open sewer’
Alex Cole-Hamilton is head of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. He is leading the Holyrood debate.
He said: “Loch Leven is being used as an open sewer and the Scottish Government and its agencies are turning a blind eye to this.
“There is no plan to make it stop. The special protections allocated to Loch Leven seem to count for nothing.”
A spokesperson for Scottish Water said they had delivered a sustained programme of investment that has helped to deliver significant improvements to Scotland’s water environment over the last 20 years.
He said sewer overflows “play an essential role in protecting customers and communities from flooding during the most intense rainstorms, when all urban drainage systems are overwhelmed by very high volumes of water in a short space of time”.
The debate takes place on Scottish Parliament TV at 5:40pm on Wednesday evening.
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