§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in theOfficial Report, for each local authority in Scotland responsible for sewage disposal, each sewage outfall which discharges directly into the sea, showing (a) how far into the sea the outfall pipe travels before discharge, (b) how much sewage each year is discharged, (c) whether the discharge is of treated or untreated sewage and (d) the proximity of the nearest public bathing beaches to the sewage outfall.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThere are some 1,600 local sewage outfalls in Scotland, just over half of which discharge directly to estuaries or to the sea. The detail sought is too lengthy for inclusion in theOfficial Report. However, a summary of much of this information is contained in a technical report "Sewage Works and Discharges Archive Report 1987" produced by the Scottish Development Department and I have arranged for a copy to be placed in the Library.
For the location of bathing waters identified in terms of the EC bathing water directive, I refer the hon. Member to my written answer of 29 June to my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries, (Sir H. Monro) at column 247.
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in theOfficial Report those sewage authorities who regularly dump sewage at sea, indicating (a) the areas permitted for dumping purposes, (b) the volumes and types of sewage dumped and (c) the proximity of the nearest public bathing beaches to the dumped sewage.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythLothian regional council is licensed to dump annually a total of 500,000 metric tonnes wet weight of sewage sludge containing not more than 25,000 metric tonnes of dry solids at sites off Bell Rock and210W St. Abbs Head which is defined as within 1½ nautical mile radius of centre co-ordinates 56° 25' N 02° 10' W and 56° 04/' N 02° 07.25' W respectively. Dumping alternates between each site every six months.
Strathclyde regional council is licensed to dump annually a total of 1,800,000 metric tonnes wet weight of sewage sludge containing not more than 90,000 metric tonnes of dry solids at Garnock Head dumping ground which is defined as within ½ nautical mile radius of centre co-ordinates 55° 39/' N 05° 00/' W.
In the Firth of Clyde the water at Saltcoats/Ardrossan lies closest to the licensed dump site. In the Firth of Forth the water at Dunbar lies nearest. Both waters meet the standards of the EC directive.