Scottish Water has completed the initial phase of a significant peatland restoration project at Loch Katrine, a vital source of drinking water for over a million customers in Glasgow and the surrounding areas.

The 400-hectare initiative aims to enhance water quality by reducing the amount of organic material washed into the loch during heavy rainfall.

Since work began in January, over 50 hectares of peatland have been successfully restored. This involved blocking man-made drains and reprofiling bare peat areas to encourage water retention within the land, preventing it from directly flowing into the loch.

The project will now pause until October to avoid the bird nesting season but is scheduled to resume seasonally over the next decade. The long-term goal is to restore over 400 hectares of peatland across the entire catchment area surrounding Loch Katrine.

The restoration efforts are crucial for improving water quality and enabling the healthy peatland to function as a substantial carbon sink, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere instead of releasing it. This aligns with Scottish Water's commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040.

Scottish Water project manager Alan Macdonald explained the historical context of the land management: "Often these areas were used for sheep grazing, so measures were put in place to drain the water from the land to make it more suitable for this. This, combined, with large numbers of deer trampling the vegetation has exposed really large peat hags which have no vegetation growing on them and which allow water to wash straight off them into the loch."

-- Advertisement --

He further added: "This is a long-term programme of work with the aim of trying to keep as much water up on the hillside as we possibly can, so that we can limit the amount of peat and organic material that is draining off into the water supply."

The peatland restoration is part of a broader land management strategy for the Loch Katrine catchment, undertaken in partnership with Forestry and Land Scotland, the long-term tenant of the land. This strategy also includes the creation of one of Europe's largest woodlands through the planting and natural regeneration of native broadleaf trees, further expanding the Great Trossachs Forest within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.

The Loch Katrine project has received funding through Peatland ACTION, a national programme dedicated to restoring Scotland's peatlands. Peatland ACTION is supported by the Scottish Government's Climate Change Plan for Net Zero, which has committed £250 million to the restoration of 250,000 hectares of peatlands by 2030. The programme provides funding, support, and advice for on-the-ground peatland restoration, delivered through a network of partner organisations, including Scottish Water. The initial phase of the work at Loch Katrine was carried out by contractor George Leslie.

Jared Stewart, Scottish Water's peatland restoration programme manager, stated: "The land management plan for Loch Katrine, in partnership with Forestry and Land Scotland, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority and Peatland ACTION, sets out to increase biodiversity through woodland creation and peatland restoration and deliver a world-class drinking water catchment. And while we are working hard to drive down carbon emissions throughout all our activities, these projects will also ensure that we are able to lock up carbon within our land holdings and support our journey to net-zero emissions by 2040."