WORK to curb the infamous "Seafield stench" from a sewage treatment plant which has blighted thousands of people in the Scottish capital is launched today.
However, residents last night dismissed the £20 million project as "completely inadequate" because it would not reduce the smell during regular maintenance work.
The odour improvement plan is designed to remove 70 per cent of smells from the Seafi
eld site in eastern Edinburgh when it is completed in two years' time.
It involves covering areas of eastern Scotland's largest waste treatment plant and installing "odour control equipment" to prevent smells escaping.
The project was approved by the city council last year.
This summer, the stench was so bad, people complained they could not sit in their gardens.
Kenny MacAskill, the SNP MSP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, who chairs the Seafield stakeholders committee, described the smell then as "frankly appalling".
Residents said it was too early to tell whether short-term measures, finished two months ago, have had any effect.
They said they had agreed only reluctantly to the current project going ahead, and would have preferred a £40 million option that would also contain smells during maintenance work.
Linda Tarbuck, the joint chair of the Leith Links Residents Association, said: "The option they are going for will cover some open areas of sewage and waste water, which should reduce odours considerably.
"However, this is completely inadequate because a lot of the problems are caused during maintenance work, and the scheme will not address that.
"Maintenance happens very frequently and is weather dependent – it should take place only when the wind is blowing offshore."
Mrs Tarbuck said it was also yet to be decided how the effectiveness of the project would be assessed, and how it would be decided whether further work was required.
The project is being led by Scottish Water and plant operators Veolia Water, which treats sewage from 550,000 people.
The city council and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency will monitor odours during and after the work.
Alex McTear, the senior project manager, said: "Seafield copes very well. However, on occasion, there have been odour issues that have had a detrimental effect on the surrounding communities. The works are designed to directly tackle these issues at source."
Mr MacAskill said: "This is very welcome news for the residents. The community has been blighted for a long time. The fact that action is now commencing is reassuring. It won't be easy and it won't be quick but a start has been made."
A spokesman for Scottish Water said the treatment works was already covered by an odour management plan to ensure "odour is minimised in all operating circumstances, including periods of maintenance".
