THE opening of the Queensferry Crossing will be a breath of fresh air with £2.2 million spent on tackling a stinking issue. 

Visitors to Fife are often 'welcomed' by a horrible smell from the sewage plant on the north side of the Forth. 

But with the bridge just weeks away from opening, Scottish Water have taken action to try to stop the stench – as far as possible. 

A spokesperson said: "It won't eradicate the odour completely, you can never get rid of it as there are so many contributing factors, but it's going to make a marked difference.

"We are constantly striving to manage the odours from our waste water sites and make sure there are plans in place to ensure any issues don't escalate."

The Dunfermline Waste Water Treatment Works, which serves 82,000 people across Fife, is located on the B981 between Inverkeithing and North Queensferry. 

The catalyst for the major upgrade, timed to be complete before the August 30 opening date for the bridge, was the end of a long-term contract with an external operator and the opportunity to better control and manage the smells coming from the plant. 

The spokesperson added: "It should make a huge difference and we're certainly hoping any odour problems can be addressed much quicker than previously." 

The "terrible stench" has long been an issue with Alex Rowley MSP stating in 2015: "It’s got the point where people in cars look at each other and say, ‘It wisnae me!’"

Fife Council previously identified the principal sources of odour, including the release of sulphide and other smells from septic sludges; the release of ammonia from the addition of lime to sludge cake; the transfer and storage of lime-treated sludge to open bays; the transfer of lime-treated sludge by diggers to lorries; and the movement of lime-treated sludge across and away from the site.

The Scottish Water improvement project includes a new sludge thickening system – and housing it indoors – as well as replacing the existing pumps, adding new sealed skips and refurbishing the odour control system.

The improvements are in line with the council's environmental health guidelines. 

Don MacLean, Scottish Water’s project manager, said: “The new installation, which is already used successfully at many Scottish Water sites across Scotland, will result in reduced noise levels and visual impact of the site to passing traffic.

“In addition, we are currently scoping and designing a lime dosing system which will further treat the waste and allow it to be used as fertiliser spread, which is more economical and environmentally-friendly than using landfill.”

Bill Elliot, Scottish Water’s regional community team manager, added: “Since December 2016, Scottish Water has worked hard to make these substantial improvements to Dunfermline Waste Water Treatment Works. 

“The substantial £2.2m investment will enable us to provide a much-improved service to customers across Fife for many years to come.”

And it's good news for the 50,000 people who will walk across the new Queensferry Bridge at the start of September. 

Mr Rowley previously told the Press: “People are very proud to be Fifers, and many pointed out that the first thing that hits you when you come over the bridge, depending on which way the wind blows, is this terrible stench.

“Part of the point people are making is that we’ve got this new bridge, and they’re proud to promote Fife for tourism, so we need to address this."