Wednesday 19 August 2015

Scottish windfarms causing pollution of drinking water supplies. SNP government response please!

               
 Anti wind campaigner Susan Crosthwaite is calling(July 2015) for an immediate and full independent investigation into the pollution of surface and groundwater of all Scottish windfarm developments sited on river basin districts. She says the construction of giant wind turbines is damaging water quality and public health.
She said from her Ayrshire home " windfarm development in Scotland is clearly breaching the Environmental Liabilities Directive and the Water Frameworks Directive." She says  that the Scottish government and Scottish Water have failed in their legal duty to protect the water environment.  She said "most wind farms are constructed on unspoilt moss, heather and deep peat often with associated forestry.  Construction vehicles churn up the ground to make access roads and clear the forests(approximately three million trees were cleared at Whitelee, Scotland`s largest wind farm development).  The churched up peat with carbon products is washed into the river system by heavy rain which the water treatment system is unable to cope with.

      She goes on "the construction teams then blast quarries and pits to provide rock foundations for access roads.  Six quarries. 85 articulated dump lorries ferried almost 6 million tons of excavated rock around the Whitelee site for roads and turbine foundations. These excavations allow access to the numerous faults(fractures) and dykes(intrusions) which crisscross Scotland and act as conduits for ground water.  Chemical and diesel spills therefore have an immediate channel to the aquifer.
               She says "it is also a great irony that  anti fracking greens make spurious claims about potential water pollution and then support the construction of industrial wind turbines which are demonstrably causing widespread pollution to water supplies in Scotland!

                The evidence of pollution discovered by radiologist Dr Rachel Connor stems from her own experience of living close to Whitelee, the largest windfarm in Europe, and experiencing first hand the results of drinking contaminated water. Evidence of this pollution was brought before a public inquiry where Dr Connor underwent a five hour cross examination.  The results of this inquiry have not yet been published by the SNP government. There was evidence that private water supplies were rendered unfit to drink!  Member States in the EU are required by law to monitor water supplies within each river basin district. Incidents have been reported by a planning monitoring officer to the regulatory authorities but have not been investigated.  This is clearly against the law.  Information from such officials may be difficult for the public to access so developments proceed unchallenged!

      Scottish water test results have indicated high levels of colour at, iron manganese, coliforms, E coli and turbidity but these were not investigated.   the disinfection procedures meant that drinking water failed to meet European and UK regulatory standards leading to increased levels of Trihalomethanes,  recognised by the WHO as possible human carcinogens.  Such a deterioration in water quality has now also been observed in Loch Bradan, Afton Reservoir and Penwhapple reservoir associated with wind farm development.  this means that many people in South and east Aryshire are drinking water below the drinking water regulatory standards.  Statutory authorities in Scotland have not informed the public of the risks to their health despite EU Directives that insist the public must be protected from contaminated drinking water.  This is entirely the responsible of the SNP government.
Arecleoch windfarm along with Hadyard hill, assel Valley, Millenderdale and Straid windfarms are all sited within the River Stinchar water catchment protected area.  none of these developments according to a FOI have been adequately monitored or assessed.

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