A pump failure at a water-treatment plant discharged tens of millions of litres of raw sewage into the estuary waters of the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, before it was repaired on Monday, officials said.
The major leak over the weekend sparked health concerns among city residents who were warned to stay away from the Firth of Forth shoreline.
“The flow of screened sewage from Seafield Waste-Water Treatment Works into the Forth has now stopped as temporary pumps have now been successfully fitted,” utility company Scottish Water said in a statement.
At one stage, 1 000 litres of raw sewage per second were pouring into the Forth estuary.
As much as 100-million litres may have been discharged, the BBC reported.
The flow of sewage into the plant could not be stopped without causing problems for the historic city, the company said, having earlier apologised for the “catastrophic failure” at the pumping station.
Partially treated waste water was discharged into the estuary with solids removed so it could dilute better.
“This avoided the alternative of putting sewage flows on to the streets, which was not an option,” Scottish Water said.
Scientists were to begin taking samples from the Forth estuary on Monday and results were expected Tuesday.
Scottish Water chief executive Jon Hargreaves told BBC radio that the incident was unlikely to have caused long-term environmental damage.
But Colin Bayes of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency said: “This is a major incident and we are treating it as such.” — AFP