Regional Report — North Coast Scotland
North Coast Scotland
This region's report usually rounds up a spread of results, trips and comp news. This time there's just one story, and it's worth giving the full space to. Phoebe Strachan coaches at North Shore Surf Club in Thurso, and what started as a cancelled session because of a sewage alert has turned into something bigger. Here's her dispatch.
Sewage, Silence, and a Letter to Parliament
Three months ago, right in the middle of summer, we had to cancel one of our North Shore Surf Club sessions because of a sewage alert.
It's never an easy decision to tell a bunch of excited kids that they can't go surfing, especially when they've been looking forward to it all week. But when you're responsible for a group of young surfers, their health has to come first.
Rather than just packing up and going home, we decided to use the time to do something about it. We got the kids to put pen to paper and write to our local MSPs, David Green and Maree Todd, explaining why they were worried and what the situation was like for them as young surfers.
A few months went by without hearing much. Then, a couple of weeks ago, David Green got back in touch. He said he understood the kids' concerns and wanted to help take the issue forward.
On 15 September, he raised the issue in the Scottish Parliament, and, incredibly, quoted some of the letters written by our groms. He talked about Scottish Water recording more than 100,000 sewage spills last year, while pointing out that because not all overflows are monitored, we still don't have the full picture. He called for a Clean Water Act and for much more serious monitoring and regulation of Scotland's waters.
"They'd sat in the surf club writing letters about something that directly affects them, and suddenly their words were being read out in Parliament."
For the kids, that was pretty massive. They'd sat in the surf club writing letters about something that directly affects them, and suddenly their words were being read out in Parliament.
The response from the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs, Gillian Martin, left me frustrated, though. Her advice was that people should avoid swimming or surfing after heavy rainfall. We understand the reasoning behind that advice, but for surfers in Thurso it isn't exactly straightforward.
We live in the Highlands. It rains. A lot.
And our best surf season is through the winter, when rain is pretty much part of the package. Telling young surfers not to go in the sea whenever there has been heavy rain could effectively mean telling them not to surf for a huge part of the season.
And that's really the bigger issue here. How are we supposed to make sensible decisions about using the sea if we don't have enough information about what's actually in it?
A Gap Between What's Happening and What We Know
Along the North Coast we have incredible beaches and blue spaces being used every day by surfers, swimmers, paddleboarders, kayakers, tourists and local families. But only a small number are designated bathing waters, meaning there are huge areas of coastline where people are using the water without the same level of information about water quality.
It feels particularly important as tourism continues to grow along the North Coast. The NC500 has brought huge numbers of people to this part of Scotland, and more and more people are discovering our beaches and coastline. Surely people should be able to find out what they're getting into before they get in the water.
You shouldn't have to wait for your local beach to become a designated bathing water before you get meaningful information about its water quality.
There's also the issue of monitoring sewage overflows. Scottish Water has been increasing the number of monitored overflows and now provides a near-real-time overflow map, but the data still only covers sites where monitoring is in place.
That means there is still a gap between what is happening in our sewage network and what we actually know about it.
For me, monitoring isn't about pointing fingers or saying that infrastructure investment isn't important. Of course investment is needed. But monitoring and investment aren't either/or. We need both.
We need to know where the problems are. We need to know how often they're happening. We need to be able to see whether investment is actually making a difference. And, most importantly, communities need access to honest, useful information about the water they're using.
The thing that has struck me most through all of this is how engaged the kids have been. They're not just learning to surf at North Shore Surf Club. They're learning to care about the place they surf, to ask questions and to stand up for their local environment.
These kids are going to be surfing these beaches for years to come. They shouldn't have to accept that sewage in the sea is just part of surfing in Scotland.
We're not asking for special treatment. We just want clean water, proper monitoring and the information we need to make sensible decisions about when it's safe to get in.
And if a bunch of kids from a surf club in Thurso can find the time to write letters about it, surely the adults making the decisions can find the time to listen.
