Sanquhar Dam Restoration Group will use £12,400 from the Berry Burn wind farm Community Fund to de-silt the scenic Forres pond
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A GROUP of volunteers has been awarded £12,400 to help de-silt a local beauty spot.
The Sanquhar Dam (Pond) Restoration Group (SDRG) will use the £15,400 award from the Berry Burn wind farm Community Fund to dredge the popular waterway, clear aquatic overgrowth and install silt barriers.
Group representative Brian McDonald explained they had originally applied for £18,900 but only needed £12,400 after contributing £3500 from their own funds along with an additional £3000 from the Benromach Distillery. SDRG has already employed a contractor from Wales to survey the site. De-silting must be carried out during the winter months to avoid disturbing wildlife.
The silt will be pumped out to the wetland part of the pond or into specially designed containers that will allow water to drain back into the pond while retaining the silted material, collected in the extraction process.
"We are delighted to finally get going with the task," said Mr McDonald. "Several attempts to desilt the pond have been unsuccessful over the years but it now looks that we will be able to slow, if not completely stop, the ingress of silt to the diminishing area of water that is so treasured by Forresians and visitors alike.
"With the help of Berry Burn and other funders over the last ten years, we've achieved a huge amount at Sanquhar, including creating and resurfacing paths and installing new revenments.
"We recently emptied bird boxes that we made and installed, ahead of the next nesting season."
Silt barriers will slow the silting process while not affecting the fish in the pond.
Mr McDonald finished: "The Mosset Burn is a principal area of eel spawning so we want it to be as accessible as possible."
