Scotland's biggest waste water treatment works in Edinburgh is set to undergo a major programme of improvements.

The Seafield Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) in Edinburgh, which processes 300 million litres of waste water every day, will see a large investment to help improve operational resilience and mitigate potential odours at the facility and support the city's growing population.

Along with improvements already delivered on site, £10 million has been put forward for improved sludge storage which will be delivered during a new investment programme in 2021.

This follows a review of treatment capacity in the region which has established that Seafield and Newbridge WWTWs can accommodate forecast growth in the region until at least 2029, after which there will need to be a review of further required investment at that time. 

Scottish Water will work with its partners in the Edinburgh and Lothians Drainage Partnership (ELDP) to reduce the amount of surface water entering sewers and volumes arriving at Seafield WWTW, and to mitigate climate change risks.  


Douglas Millican, Scottish Water's Chief Executive, said: "Scottish Water has already completed a lot of the work that was recommended in the independent review and we are committed to working with the community going forward to ensure that the planned investment and future investment is done in partnership.

"We are bringing forward this investment in extra sludge storage to help with odour risk management and we are confident that, as strategically important sites, Seafield WWTW and Newbridge WWTW can accommodate additional waste water to meet the needs of a growing region.

"Scottish Water is committed to working with stakeholders on our short-term investment and in developing options for Seafield WWTW in the long-term."

Ben Macpherson, constituency MSP and Chair of the Seafield Stakeholder Group welcomed the planned Scottish Water investment at Seafield WWTW.

He added: "I very much welcome this £10 million of major investment by Scottish Water to upgrade the Seafield Waste Water Treatment Works and minimise odour issues in the area.

"I pay tribute to all of the Stakeholder Group for helping to secure this investment, and particularly the local Community Council and Residents’ Association who, along with others including myself, have campaigned for improvements over several years.

"Following the recent independent review of the site and surrounding networks, I'm pleased that Scottish Water is implementing the recommendations and that our Stakeholder Group has made a positive impact.

"This investment should make a meaningful difference towards addressing the odour issues that occur in Leith, and improve the performance of the Seafield Waste Water Treatment Works for the benefit of Edinburgh as a whole."

(CM/JG)