Work begins to repair sewer

Work begins to repair sewer

Sepa says water quality may have been compromised

Work has begun to repair a collapsed sewer which leaked gallons of waste into a river.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said water quality at Ayr and Prestwick beaches was "good" despite gallons of effluent pouring into the River Ayr when a 3ft sewage pipe broke open on Monday.

Scottish Water said it had been closely monitoring a temporary diversion of its sewage overnight while work got under way to restore the main sewer.

Peter Farrer, Scottish Water's general manager, said: "Work is under way to permanently restore the sewer to full working order and is due to continue for the next few days.

Dry weather

"Once again I would like to apologise to our customers for any inconvenience and reassure them that we will continue to do everything possible to ensure that normal service is resumed as soon as possible."

Initial assessments suggested the potential impact of pollution on nearby Ayr beach had been lessened because of the recent dry weather.

The collapse of the 3ft sewer which runs through the town to the beach came to light on Tuesday afternoon as gallons of sewage poured in to the river.

The water firm said it was working closely with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, South Ayrshire Council and Strathclyde Police's road traffic department.

Mr Farrer said there were no plans to close roads during the repair work.