Residents affected by the infamous “Torry pong” are being urged to come forward to help the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) investigate its cause.
People began to complain about foul odours in the area since the £63million Nigg Waste Water Treatment Plant opened its doors in 2001.
The number of people who complained about smells in the area soared in the last month, having been in steady decline since October.
Sepa is currently investigating the operational activities at the water treatment plant, and is now appealing for local people to give statements about the problem.
David Fryer, secretary of Torry Community Council, said: “I have been approached by Sepa’s investigations officer who is looking for people who are prepared to come in and give statements.
“They are looking for incident witness statements and to meet people and to go through their evidence.”
“Anyone with experience can get in touch with us and we would put them in touch with the investigations officer, it would not be a public meeting.”
A spokesman for Sepa added: “We are currently conducting a thorough investigation into operational activities at the Nigg Waste Water Treatment Works near Torry, Aberdeen.
“While Sepa is aware of allegations surrounding activities at the plant, the investigative process prevents us from providing further details of an ongoing case.”
The site is owned by Scottish Water and currently run by Kelda Water.
Both bodies declined to comment on the investigation yesterday.
An Aberdeen City Council spokeswoman said: “Aberdeen City Council is currently not intending to carry out any enforcement action into the Nigg Water Waste Plant.
“We continue to work in partnership with Sepa and Scottish Water to minimise the effects of odour on the Torry community.”
Earlier this week, Professor Rob Jackson – an industry expert brought in to investigate by the community council – told the group he was “bitterly disappointed” at the recent number of complaints.
He said: “I was bitterly disappointed by last month’s figures, from October to January it was pretty much a straight line on a graph doing down.
“In February of 2015 there were three complaints, in February of 2016 there were three complaints but in March this year there were 22.
“This month there have been six complaints so far.”
