‘No proof’ over raw sewage in pond claim
Housebuilders say they have found no evidence supporting claims raw sewage has been seen floating in a pond built next to one of their developments in Kinross and designed to hold excess surface water only.
A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes said its surveys at the company’s Lathro Meadows development had found nothing to back up onlne claims faeces and toilet paper had been spotted sitting on top of water collecting in the scheme’s Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SuDS).
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) also confirmed this week it too had investigated the claims and similarly found no evidence, although it did say it believed the pond needed to be cleared of“silt”and this was“being dealt with”by Perth and Kinross Council.
The claims were made in a comment thread connected to a separate complaint about a group of teenagers throwing a life buoy into the basin at the end of Latch Dubh Lane last week.
One local said in the thread:“I wouldn’t recommend playing in or near the SuDS as it is ... a drainage system.”
Another local replied:“There’s sewage been leaking into there lately so it’s an even more nasty place to fall in.”
A third local said:“There really should be signs that there is contamination.”
A fourth local said they had spotted toilet paper floating in the water as well.
But a spokesperson for Persimmon Homes told the PA:“Persimmon Homes takes any environmental concerns seriously. As part of our testing and surveying of the drainage network we have not found any evidence of foul water entering the SUDs basin and we have not had any contact from SEPA regarding any such concern.
“Persimmon remains committed to completing the programmed works to deliver the roads and drainage network to an adoptable standard. We apologise for the continued inconvenience caused by these works.”
A spokesperson for SEPA said:“SEPA has investigated a potential pollution incident at Latch Dubh Lane following reports from members of the public.
“An officer attended the site and found no signs of sewage pollution in the SuDS pond or the North Queich. Due to the recent warm weather, the water level is currently low and there is very little water flow through the pond. As a result, the water is stagnant, which appears to be causing issues with odour and potential bacterial growth.
“SEPA believes the SuDS pond and swale need to be emptied of silt. This issue is being dealt with by PKC.”
A spokesperson for PKC said:“Once complete, this SuDS feature will manage surface water runoff from property roofs and curtilages and roads and will improve water quality and reduce flood risk. There have been some instances of the foul and surface water networks surcharging following heavy rainfall although SEPA have found no signs of sewage pollution in the SuDS pond or the North Queich.”
They added that the site remains the responsibility of the developer and that they had asked Persimmon to undertake the necessary work to remove silt.