Kinghorn Harbour Beach

Overview

We are delivering a Management Plan to search underground for any possible sources of contamination from the public wastewater network, contributing to poor water quality at Kinghorn Harbour Beach.

Our investigations, alongside work led by SEPA and other partners, continue to indicate that pollution affecting the Lady Burn catchment is a key issue. The challenge is that these watercourses and drainage networks run largely underground beneath the village and have historically not been well understood.

What We Are Doing

Over the past 18 months, Scottish Water has undertaken extensive investigations under a Management Plan agreed with SEPA. This work has included 70 manhole surveys, almost 2,000 metres of CCTV inspections within underground culverts and pipework, water quality sampling at 12 locations, and dye-testing at 158 properties to confirm drainage connections.

The work has identified and resolved a number of issues, including removal of a number foul sewer blockage, two dig down repairs, four inline sewer repairs and one property misconnection. However, despite extensive investigations, no single significant point of failure has been identified and, to date, water quality sampling has not shown significant improvement.

Following elevated sample results from the Kinghorn Burn earlier this bathing season, Scottish Water and SEPA also worked together through a multi-agency response. Two further sewer blockages caused by a build-up of fat, oil, grease and wipes were identified and cleared, and water quality continues to be monitored.

Scottish Water remains committed to working with SEPA and other partners, as well as the local community, to support the improvements everyone wants to see.