Helensburgh man Dougie Blackwood was walking his dog along the seafront near the pier at the beginning of last week when he noticed brown and green foamy water, which he believes is coming from the burn near John Street.

He took to social media to voice his concerns, before telling the Advertiser: “It was pretty disgusting. I don’t absolutely know its sewage but it looks like scum on the surface of the water. I walk along the seafront regularly and noticed it to the east of the burn.” Mr Blackwood said he noticed the substance in the water from time to time but that it was worse this time round. He said there was deep green weed at the seafront which he believes might be a nutrient product of the sewage.

Mr Blackwood said he believed Scottish Water had the right to release some sewage into the watercourses to prevent flooding.

He added: “I remember there were houses built on McLaughlin Road and that was one of their main thoughts, that sewage could flow into the burn nearby but I don’t know how they work with the sewage in this area.” A spokesman from Scottish Water said: “We have inspected the location and did not find any sewage. We have also inspected our pumping station and infrastructure in the area, and these were found to be operating normally. There has been some particularly heavy rain recently and sometimes, when this happens, screened and diluted stormwater is discharged through overflow pipes. These are safety valves in the waste water system which release finely screened stormwater to prevent flooding.

“They are managed under licence from SEPA and are invested in and maintained to ensure discharge standards and requirements are met.”