North-east Rivers Protected By £3m Upgrades

4-Aug-08

Two picturesque North-east rivers – the Ugie and the Ythan – popular with anglers, are benefiting from Scottish Water’s 2010 Vision for Aberdeenshire, the £62million campaign of improvements throughout the region.

Waste water treatment works at Ellon, Pitmedden and Stuartfield near Old Deer have all been upgraded at a total cost of just under £3million.

This will help protect the rivers, both of which have good reputations for brown trout and salmon fishing.

Project manager Martin Hayward of Scottish Water Solutions said: “We are delighted that these three upgrades have been successfully completed on schedule. Improving and maintaining the waste water infrastructure that serves the north-east is vital for the environment. We are particularly pleased that the work at the Stuartfield site has made such a difference to the quality of discharges and this will bring benefits to local wildlife and anglers.”

Scottish Water’s Communities Manager for Aberdeenshire, Steve Scott, said: “Our customers in all parts of Scotland deserve the best quality service whether they stay in rural straths, coastal communities or major towns and cities. We have a lot of projects underway at the moment to provide clearer, fresher drinking water, replace old pipelines to cut down on leakage and to enhance the environment by upgrading sewage works. During all these improvements we strive to keep any disruption to an absolute minimum and of course while this is going on our local staff continue to offer a great 24/7 service.”

STUARTFIELD

The improvements at the Stuartfield plant are bringing the largest benefits. Previous tests at the site, which also serves the nearby community of Old Deer, had shown that the quality of effluent being discharged into the South Ugie Water, which flows into the River Ugie, was in need of improvement to meet the latest standards. Scottish Water’s investment of £984,000 in new equipment means that the final water meets strict European directives.

ELLON AND PITMEDDEN

At Ellon £1.4million has been spent to prolong the life of the plant by carrying out vital modernisation. This will ensure good quality discharges into the River Ythan.

The situation was similar at the waste water treatment works at Pitmedden where £600,000 has been spent on technical improvements. The final effluent is dispersed into the Bronie Burn, which flows into the Ythan.