Loch pollution mystery

Jennifer Foulds • Published 29 Jul 2010 09:30 0 Comments

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The polluted shore line

A MYSTERY source of pollution which turned a section of the Gareloch murky brown is confusing residents.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) got involved after residents reported the pollution at the head of the loch - which many believed to be sewage.

After a site visit on Monday, SEPA say an oil spill from a sunken boat on Friday evening caused the pollution - but Councillor George Freeman is not so sure.

SEPA say a small amount of oil - just six metres - covered the area but Councillor Freeman reckons it was much larger and does not understand how the environmental regulator comes to its conclusion.

He said: "It certainly was much more than just six metres.

"The problem first appeared on Friday morning and was reported by me before mid-day.

"There was certainly no indications that the cause was oil.

"In a past life I had many years of experience dealing with bulk oils and oil spills and there was no smell of oil and certainly no sheen on the water."

He said SEPA confirmed to him on Tuesday that they had not managed to obtain a sample from the Gareloch for analysis and that they had not even sighted the material.

Scottish Water has confirmed that all of its waste water networks in the area are working well.

Concerned residents contacted Councillor Freeman after noticing the murky brown pollution and he contacted Scottish Water and SEPA in a bid to find out what the pollution was and where it had come from.

SEPA say no dead fish or affected wildlife were reported and that the 'oil' is now believed to have been dispersed by the natural tide.

It also claims that the complainant made reference to the size of the area being six metres and that it was difficult for the receiving officer to get much detail because the complaint was passed on second-hand.

Dianne Foy, SEPA's unit manager for the Glasgow and Dunbartonshire team, said: "SEPA was made aware of a spill of oil from a boat in the Gareloch on Friday evening.

"A SEPA officer has been out to investigate and no adverse affect on the environment or wildlife has been seen. A small amount of oil can spread out over a water surface in a fine film, and it does not take much to cover a large area.

"It would appear that in this instance it was a small amount which has broken up and been dispersed by the natural tidal action of the loch.

"When our officer investigated no oil could be seen. As explained, it seems it has broken up and dispersed.

"It was suggested that the oil may have come from a boat that had sunk, rather than been discharged or disposed of from a boat that is still in use.

"It is unlikely we would be able to find out whose boat it was and it's unlikely we would pursue the owner unless we had evidence that they were deliberately disposing of their boat in the water.

"We would like to take this opportunity to anyone members of the public who are concerned about a pollution incident to contact SEPA as soon as possible, giving us as many details as they can.

"Getting details quickly will mean we can begin investigations early and take effective action as necessary. You can contact our Balloch office on 01389 727770 during office hours, or SEPA has a 24-hour report line on 0800 80 70 60. All contact can be treated as confidential."

A spokesman for Scottish Water said: "We inspected our waste water network, including septic tanks, CSOs (Combined Sewer Overflows) and pumping stations, and all are working well. There were no signs of any spillage."

This article appeared in Helensburgh Advertiser 29 Jul 10

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