Dismay as water bills rise by 200 per cent
(From The Orcadian dated May 17, 2001)

Dismay has spread through Kirkwall firms following the news that their water bills are to rise by more than 200 per cent this year.

The massive rises have been imposed upon companies in the town who pay trade effluent charges, to help fund the new sewage treatment plant being built at the Head of Work.

The costs of the £1.9 million plant and £1.3 million outfall rose by £2.2 million after the Scottish Environment Protection Agency told the water authority that they had to upgrade it to make it cleaner.

It means though that local traders will have to pay more, in line with the Government's "polluter pays" principle.

Billy Jolly said he was one of 16 Kirkwall firms that were being hit by the increases and his trade effluent charges were rising by more than 200 per cent.

"We can't understand the reasoning behind it at all. It is a prohibitive charge and we can't cope with it. It is extremely expensive as it is and for it to go up by 200 per cent is ludicrous."

He said his trade effluent charges were due to rise in November from 25 pence per cubic metre to 76 pence per cubic metre. On top of this, charges are also levied for waste water, surface drainage, measured water and the use of a meter.

"Something has got to be done," he said. "It is just crazy what they are going to do. We simply can't afford it. The business has got to carry on but we can't go on with these charges for everything rising. It is not fair. If I was to put up my charges by 200 per cent I would not have a single customer in the shop but they have a monopoly. There is nothing we can do about it."

Mr Jolly said he would be writing a letter to Orkney MSP Jim Wallace to see if anything could be done.

"I can't understand the unfairness of this," he added. "There are 16 firms in Orkney that seem to be affected by this. Why they are targeting these few folk I can't understand at all. It looks to me like it has been a pin in a piece of paper."

Sheila Rigby from Orkney Sea Fresh said her company's trade effluent charges were trebling.

"We heard a few months back that they were changing and they were having to upgrade the facility but we did not realise it would go up so much. We use a lot of water in our production and it is going to have a big implication on our costings."

A spokesman from the North of Scotland Water Authority said the charges reflected the cost of the new treatment and no more.

"Some of the traders seem to think that the burden for all of this is falling on their shoulders. That is not true," he added.

He said that waste, including offal from factories, went directly into the sewers and through screens before being discharged, complete with all the toxins, into the sea.

"Now the toxic stuff is intercepted and that cost is put back to the trade effluent customers. It is a steep increase but it is not profiteering by us. We are a public body and it is cost-reflective," he said.