A block of flats in Aberdeen’s Tillydrone has been described as “smelling like a week-old toilet” due to an overflow of raw sewage.
The problem at King’s Court flats has been caused by three drains that repeatedly get blocked.
It was first noticed over six months ago, but despite repeated complaints to Aberdeen City Council and Scottish Water, the problem remains.
Tillydrone Community Council members claim both organisations have been passing the buck to the other, delaying the issue being fixed.
An engineer has attended the scene to inspect the situation, but works have yet to be carried out.
‘The water is an attraction for kids’
Billy Kidd, 75, has lived in Tillydrone since 1971 and has been a member of the community council for 30 years.
He thinks the problem is especially dangerous due to the children’s play area a few hundred feet along the road.
“The water is an attraction for kids,” he said.
“Especially younger ones who don’t really know what it is – they just want to go right into it,” he said.
“It’s a stinking foul smell, like a toilet that’s been left for a week or maybe longer. You can smell it from 10 to 15 yards away.”
Mr Kidd said despite repeated complaints they have just been passed from “one person to another” at the council.
He believes a stumbling block has been due to Scottish Water having responsibility for the maintenance of underground water pipes – the council has been reluctant to act.
It is believed the problem is being caused by a broken Buchan trap underground.
Sewage not even fenced off by council
However, he still believes the council should be doing more. He said: “They have a duty to act within 24 hours if people’s safety is at risk.
“It should really be fenced off until they can fix it. It really is a health risk and has gone on far too long.”
Concerns have also been raised that local animals have been bathing and drinking in the water.
The Scottish environment watchdog Sepa told The Press and Journal due to the sewage being on land and not in the water, it was outwith their remit.
‘Tillydrone treatment has deteriorated’
Tillydrone Community Council uses a spreadsheet to keep track of all the issues in the area, but is noticing more and more issues are piling up.
“Over the last 10 years I have seen the way Tillydrone has been treated has deteriorated,” said Mr Kidd.
“If you report something to one person they often just pass it along to someone else and nothing gets fixed.”
He added: “This issue you shouldn’t be able to ignore as it is staring you right in the face.”
Scottish Water awaiting council work
Scottish Water said it is waiting for Aberdeen City Council to carry out pre-works before it can begin fixing the blocked drains.
It’s not known what the pre-works consist of, but it could be for example disconnecting a street lamp which would be outwith Scottish Water’s responsibility.
A spokeswoman for Scottish Water said: “We recognise that customers are looking for this issue to be resolved as soon as possible and would like to reassure them a repair is in the process of being organised by our contractors.
“Liaison is underway with Aberdeen City Council to progress the pre-works required, as the repair can proceed once these are complete.”
An Aberdeen City Council spokesman said: “We received an order from Scottish Water’s contractor to remove a lamppost in the vicinity to allow them to undertake work to resolve the issue. This will be undertaken on Monday.”
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