Broughty Ferry and Monifieth beaches to reopen following sewer pipe leak near Dundee

Two beaches in Tayside are set to reopen following a sewer pipe leak which left the waters off-limits to swimmers.

Broughty Ferry and Monifieth beaches were closed off to bathers earlier this week, with Scottish Water working to repair a leaking sewer rising main on Riverside Drive in Dundee.

Completion of the “complex” repairs to the 600m pipeline means that instead of being dumped into the River Tay, sewage will return to being transported to a waste treatment plant.

Scottish Water and Veolia will liase with SEPA, NHS Tayside and local authorities to lift the warning against bathing or paddling at the popular beaches as soon as possible.

While no particular day has been specified, the beaches will be off-limits until the risk to water quality has passed, the firm said.

A Scottish Water spokesperson said: “Our team on site has worked hard over recent days and nights to complete a complex repair and return the sewer to normal operation as quickly as possible.

“We are pleased to have completed this critical phase of our work overnight, preventing the short term impact of this incident on the local environment from continuing.

“Plans are in place for extensive reinstatement of the affected section of carriageway to begin today. This is expected to take some time, in order to ensure a long-lasting repair following significant excavation in difficult ground conditions.

“We would ask road users to continue to plan their journeys and to allow extra time where possible.

“We will continue to work with SEPA, NHS Tayside and local authorities to ensure that the precautionary signage at local beaches can come down as soon as there is no continuing risk to water quality linked with this incident.

“Beyond this, our priority is to make sure the repair of the road is completed safely and to a high standard so the road network can also return to normal operation as soon as possible.”