Scottish Water has been fined £5,000 after failing to comply with their licence to discharge sewage effluent from Durris Sewage Treatment Works into the Durris burn, and failing to comply with an improvement notice.
The water company pled guilty on 24 December at Stonehaven Sheriff Court. The matter was investigated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
The discharge licence placed a limit on the concentration of polluting organic matter permitted. Between 7 January 2008 and 22 April 2009 nine samples exceeded the legal limit, and Scottish Water was notified of these failures.
In October 2008 SEPA served an Enforcement Notice on Scottish Water requiring them to submit a report to identifying all the steps to be taken to ensure compliance with their licence and the timescales for completion. The report was not submitted on time, but Scottish Water subsequently undertook the work in order to bring the works to compliance for March 2009. An audit sample taken on 22 April 2009 found that the discharge was still failing the licence conditions.
Louise Asher, SEPA's investigating officer, commented:
"A SEPA ecology survey carried out in September 2008 indicated the presence of pollution. This was also confirmed by the presence of toilet paper and prolific growths of sewage fungus noted in the Durris Burn. A second ecology survey carried out in February showed the life in the burn to be damaged.
"SEPA officers ensured Scottish Water was fully aware of the problem and allowed time for investigation and corrective action, but these were not complied with."
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
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