A Kinross woman has spoken of wading through sewage to save her dogs just metres from a well-loved trail at Loch Leven.
It was supposed to be a pleasant outing for Fiona Stewart as she began a walk around the area with her staffies, Indy and Blue.
“I finished work and I thought I would take the dogs out for a nice, sunny walk by the loch,” she said.
“They were having a whale of a time.”
Until they weren’t, as Fiona and her beloved pooches left covered in what she believes was human excrement.
In the past, sewage has ended up in the loch when the nearby Kinross Waste Water Treatment Works overflows in heavy rain, rather than flooding homes.
Fiona, 33, said: “Blue loves water. He and Indy jumped in.
“Indy could smell it and she started to panic. Then she got stuck in what turns out was sewage.
“She was getting more and more distressed.”
Fiona’s fears for Blue, four, and Indy, five, continued to grow.
“So I climbed in to help them. And then I realised: ‘oh, that’s a wipe, oh, that’s toilet paper…’
“‘Oh my god, we’re covered in [human waste].
“They’re two rescue staffies,” Fiona added, “they already have traumatised pasts and then this happens.”
Latest in line of sewage problems
There have been other sewage incidents at Loch Leven.
Scientists link sewage to the toxic blue algae increase at Loch Leven, which can kill dogs and make people sick, though they stress sewage is just one of many drivers.
Warmer water temperatures in summer – exacerbated by climate change – also increase phosphorus and algae levels.
“The fact that this is legal blows my mind,” continued Fiona.
“We strive as a nation to care about our environment and protecting it, yet we’re using a nature reserve as somewhere to deposit human waste.”
Kinross-shire Lib Dem councillor Willie Robertson created the Loch Leven Heritage Trail. He was saddened to hear of Fiona’s ordeal at the popular tourist attraction.
“I feel really bad that people are being put at potential risk trying to enjoy it,” Willie said.
“It’s worrying and distressing that people using a much-loved and well-used local facility like the Loch Leven Heritage Trail could come to potential harm because of the effluent stream.”
Call for quick reporting
Scottish Water and Sepa representatives called for people to report incidents of this kind immediately.
As the report was made ten days later, Sepa were “unable to substantiate the complaint” and verify if there was sewage present on February 10.
When teams investigated the area, no sewage was found in the burn.
A spokesperson for Scottish Water said: “Our local team works hard to operate the Waste Water Treatment Works that serves Kinross to a high standard, so that it can play its vital role in protecting the environment.
“If there was an incident of the kind described, we would respond as quickly as possible to investigate and take any required action.”
Conversation