Scottish Water is investigating after a build-up of sewer water forced the closure of a Fife leisure centre.
Toilets, showers and sinks at East Sands Leisure Centre were blocked during last week’s torrential rain.
And the centre had to close to the public from Thursday afternoon until Saturday for safety reasons.
Sports clubs that were allowed in on the Thursday night were warned not to use the showers.
The issue is said to be long-standing.
And the trust has blamed it on the Scottish Water sewage pumping station next door.
Fife Sport and Leisure Trust chief executive Emma Walker said the treatment works cannot cope with large influxes of water – although Scottish Water disputes this.
And she added: “Because of this issue we find that when there is heavy rainfall our toilets and sinks can sometimes back up and drain slowly.
“On Friday we were unable to open to the public for the whole day.
“We were not confident that we could safely let our customers use the facility with the threat of our drains overflowing.”
Sewage alarm installed
Scottish Water has installed a sewage alarm in the St Andrews leisure centre as its building is unmanned.
It means sports trust staff can alert the company to any issues when the alarm sounds.
St Andrews Liberal Democrat councillor Jane Ann Liston said the situation was not good enough.
“It is unbelievable that this has been a known problem for years, although the increased occurrence of very heavy rainfall has exacerbated the situation,” she said.
“Scottish Water must immediately take steps to permanently deal with this issue so that it does not occur again.”
Fellow Lib Dem councillor Al Clark pointed out that East Sands Leisure Centre is already operating a restricted timetable.
And he added: “With a climate emergency now upon us, these incidents are likely to occur again, which will no doubt cause further disruption.
“The means the people of St Andrews and the surrounding area will continue to lose out until the problem is fixed.
“It won’t do.”
Scottish Water does not believe blocked drains are due to its St Andrews building
Scottish Water said a historic issue at the pumping station had been resolved several years ago.
A spokesman said weekly inspections had been carried out ever since.
And the company does not believe last week’s problem was caused by its building.
The spokesman added: “Today, Friday, our sewer response team is attending the site to check the sewer for any obstructions that may be impacting on the centre’s drainage during intense rainfall.
“We will update Fife Sports and Leisure Trust of the outcome of this.
“If necessary, we will work with them to explore any other potential causes of the issues they are currently experiencing.”
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