Pollution concern at Craigton Woods in Milngavie

Residents walking dogs last week complained of discolouration of the burn in the area which normally runs clear.

Scottish Water revealed to the Herald that there had been a discharge of silt into the water as work progressed on a new water mains project for the area.

A spokesperson for Scottish Water said: “Caledonia Water Alliance (CWA), our alliance partners, are working on a £30m Scottish Water project which includes the installation of about eight miles of new water mains and will benefit 54,000 people in parts of the Bearsden, Milngavie Clydebank and Strathblane areas.

“On Friday (April 23) there was a brief discharge of silt-laden water to a tributary of the Craigton Burn near Mains Estate, Milngavie when water was being pumped from an excavation on the project.

“Silt mitigation measures already in place were unable to contain the water and discolouration in the burn was noticed by operatives.

“Work was stopped and additional silt mitigation measures installed as quickly as possible. CWA reported the incident to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), in accordance with the terms of their Construction Site Licence.”

The Herald also got in touch with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

A spokesperson for SEPA said: "SEPA received a report regarding discolouration of a watercourse near the Craigton Road area of Milngavie on the evening of Friday 23 April 2021.

“There is no ongoing discharge, but we have confirmed the source of discolouration as silt and are liaising with the appropriate people to better understand what happened and what steps are being taken to avoid any reoccurrence.

"Pollution incidents can be reported to us via our 24-hour online form at www.sepa.org.uk/report.”