Post by warriorwitch on Apr 23, 2007 12:12:53 GMT
By mid-morning however the problem had been resolved. Reuters - Monday, April 23LONDON (Reuters) - Engineers succeeded on Monday in stopping the escape of millions of litres of sewage into the Firth of Forth, Scottish Water said.
The discharge began on Friday afternoon after a pumping station failed.
Engineers worked through Sunday and Monday morning to install six temporary pumps at the Seafield Sewage Treatment Works at Leith, near Edinburgh, but had encountered last-minute difficulties which caused a delay in switching them on.
"The flow of screened sewage from Seafield ... into the Forth has now stopped as temporary pumps have now been successfully fitted," Scottish water said in a statement.
At one stage, 1,000 litres of sewage, which had been filtered but not treated, was pouring into the Forth every second.
The plant, run by Thames Water on behalf of Scottish Water, treats sewage for 800,000 people in and around Edinburgh. Thames Water, which is owned by a group led by Australia's Macquarie Bank, has apologised for the incident.
Authorities are warning people not to swim in the estuary and to be careful while walking along the shoreline on Edinburgh's seafront.
It is expected to take another 48 hours before the bacteria in the untreated water is broken down by natural forces in the sea.
The discharge began on Friday afternoon after a pumping station failed.
Engineers worked through Sunday and Monday morning to install six temporary pumps at the Seafield Sewage Treatment Works at Leith, near Edinburgh, but had encountered last-minute difficulties which caused a delay in switching them on.
"The flow of screened sewage from Seafield ... into the Forth has now stopped as temporary pumps have now been successfully fitted," Scottish water said in a statement.
At one stage, 1,000 litres of sewage, which had been filtered but not treated, was pouring into the Forth every second.
The plant, run by Thames Water on behalf of Scottish Water, treats sewage for 800,000 people in and around Edinburgh. Thames Water, which is owned by a group led by Australia's Macquarie Bank, has apologised for the incident.
Authorities are warning people not to swim in the estuary and to be careful while walking along the shoreline on Edinburgh's seafront.
It is expected to take another 48 hours before the bacteria in the untreated water is broken down by natural forces in the sea.