Utility agency in the poo over Methven sewage lake

Dec 2 2011 by Denis Brown, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

A PERTHSHIRE sports club secretary has torpedoed Scottish Water for taking too long to fix a collapsed sewer that created a “lake” of human waste.

After the vile back-up began erupting at Methven Bowling Club on November 17, it took the utility company 10 long days to fully get to the bottom of it.

Disgusted club secretary, Doug Raeburn, said although workers had attended the village on several occasions, they failed to stop sewage flowing into a club neighbour’s garden.

“There was a lake of sewage, about 17 yards wide and a foot deep in the garden next door to the club. It really stank and I was seriously disgusted by it,” he said.

He said workers had “rodded” sewage system access points to clear drains every 50 to 100 yards, but with minimal impact on the ever-expanding ‘poo pool’.

After reporting the potential health risk to Perth and Kinross Council’s environmental health department, Mr Raeburn snapped and informed Scottish Water he had tipped off the PA.

“It’s very disappointing, the sewage lake just got even bigger after all the rain on Saturday – there must have been hundreds of litres in there by Sunday,” he said.

“We were worried it would start spilling over and back into the bowling club and onto our green.

“So I told Scottish Water I’d been in touch with the PA and it seemed to spur them into action.”

Mr Raeburn said he believed that workers had finally stopped the flow by Monday, using two large tankers on site equipped with hoses to suck up the loch-sized expanse of sewage.

“I called them about this issue the first time on November 17, so it’s not good enough, they should have sorted it out within a few days,” he said.

Asked to comment on the issue, a Scottish Water spokesman yesterday provided a brief statement.

“Scottish Water engineers have been involved in the complicated repair of a collapsed sewer in Methven, adjacent to the bowling club,” it reads.

“We will ensure that this repair is completed as quickly as possible.”