Broughty Ferry beach has been rejuvenated in recent years, thanks to a drive to remove litter from the shore and tackle the water quality with the £100 million Tay Waste Water Project.

“Over the last five years the council has been working hard with our partners and the local community to secure this fantastic beach award,” said leader of the administration, Councillor Jill Shimi.

“Scottish Water started the ball rolling with their £100 million investment to upgrade the waste water facilities for the Tay coastline.

“In a concerted effort to improve facilities at the beach, Dundee City Council invested over £30,000 in upgrading the car parking and public toilet facilities, as well as introducing safety measures with lifeguards and signage.

“An animal exclusion zone was also introduced in the beach award area to help keep it clean.

“There has also been a tremendous amount of community involvement through well-attended beach cleans.

“Generations of Dundonians have enjoyed Broughty Ferry beach, and this new status confirms a clean, safe seaside environment for future generations.”

The Blue Flag and Seaside awards are organised by FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education) and administered in Scotland by Keep Scotland Beautiful.

As the blue flag fluttered in the sunshine, Keep Scotland Beautiful chief executive John Summers described it as “a memorable day” for Broughty Ferry.

“It is also a record-breaking day, as seven is the highest number of blue flags we have ever had in Scotland,” he said.

“We have been working towards this with Dundee City Council for three or four years now, and they have done all the right things and approached it logically and professionally.

“The community has also played an important part and we have been working with the Broughty Ferry Beach Management Group.

“Winning the blue flag is a credit to everyone concerned.”

Mr Summers added that, as an internationally recognised mark of quality, blue flag status offered opportunities to promote tourism and inward investment that extended beyond the beach itself.

© All copyright D C Thomson & Co Ltd., 2005

What scientists are looking for are coliform and streptococci bacteria, high levels of which are evidence of contamination by human sewage or animal waste.

To achieve a top-quality pass for the year, each beach must have fewer than 500 coliforms of all types in 100 millilitres of water at least 16 times out of 20.

The results of the first test for Broughty Ferry have just been released and show a rate of only 152 coliforms per 100ml, which qualifies for an “excellent” rating.

The results for faecal coliforms and faecal streptococci were also good enough to get the top rating.

There have been enormous improvements in water quality at Broughty Ferry since the completion of the Tay wastewater project, which saw sewage outfalls along the north bank of the estuary replaced by the Hatton treatment plant.

Blue Flag status, the internationally recognised symbol for a clean and well-run beach, was formally awarded by the Keep Scotland Beautiful campaign two weeks ago.

Montrose beach was also a Blue Flag winner this year. Its first test by SEPA found only 24 coliforms per 100ml, also gaining an “excellent” rating.

There was a mixed performance among other beaches along the Tay estuary.

Monifieth’s and Easthaven’s samples showed only 10 coliforms per 100ml.

However, Carnoustie could manage only a “good” pass with a score of 1200 coliforms per 100ml.

© All copyright D C Thomson & Co Ltd., 2005