Scotland's Seafield STP starts functioning after spill

Limited ban still remains on E (Credit: REUTERS)Scotland's biggest sewage treatment facility, Seafield, is back in working condition after causing a major sewage spill in the last week of April. The spill contaminated the estuary, Firth of Forth, and forced many Scots away from the beaches for over a week.

The incident happened at Seafield's Edinburgh water treatment works, after one of its sewage pumps failed. Sewage poured at a rate of 1,000 litres a second for three days. Thames Water, which operates Seafield for Scottish Water, had no choice but to direct the sewage into the sea until temporary pumps were installed. Following this, authorities urged people to stay away from the polluted shoreline. There were fears of E Coli and other infections. The Food Standards Agency of Scotland also put a ban on harvesting fish and shellfish in the affected waters.

Scotland's environment protection agency has initiated an investigation into the spill.