Sanquhar Pond improvement project in Forres postponed over technical issues

A waterway improvement project has been postponed due to technical issues.

Using a £12,400 grant from the Berry Burn wind farm Community Fund, the Sanquhar Dam Restoration Group (SDRG) employed a specialist contractor to de-silt the main pond at Sanquhar, in Forres.

However, shortly after starting the job last Wednesday, they had to stop.

SDRG spokesman Brian McDonald confirmed that the suction pipe keeps getting blocked because the silt and sand are so compacted.

“The contractors desilting the pond have experienced problems,” he said. “They have now returned to Wales to collect grabs that might be able to loosen up the sediment and enable extraction.

“Despite carrying out contracting work over many years, they have never been confronted by this problem before.”

The Welsh team will return to complete the work on September 18 or 19.

Meanwhile, SDRG has installed silt traps to prevent the issue occurring again anytime soon.

The volunteers at Sanquhar raised more than £19,000 in total to de-silt the popular waterway, clear aquatic overgrowth and install silt barriers.