Work to start at former Nairn water site
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
WORK to remove and safely dispose of the stored by-product of the water treatment process that formerly provided Nairnshire’s main drinking water supply is set to start on Monday.
Clunas Reservoir and Water Treatment Works supplied drinking water to much of Nairnshire until it was taken out of service in 2002. Since then, most of the area’s water has come from a modern water treatment works which is shared with Inverness and draws water from Lochs Ashie and Duncheltaig to the south-west.
Following the decommissioning of Clunas Water Treatment Works, the waste by-product from the historic water treatment process was safely stored on site. The storage has been regularly inspected to ensure the protection of the local environment until arrangements could be made for its safe disposal.
The material is now set to be transported by road to a specialist facility near Paisley where it will be treated and reused.
Scottish Water alliance partner Amey have been on site preparing for the clean-up operation to commence.
A number of local road improvements have also been carried out in advance of the work.
It is expected that the project will take around six months to complete.
Scottish Water project manager James Wiseman said: “The work we are carrying out is necessary to ensure the long-term protection of the local environment. Careful preparation has taken place over the past year to ensure that this work can take place smoothly and with as little disruption as possible to local communities.
“Residents in the surrounding area may notice some additional heavy goods vehicles between the former Clunas Water Treatment Works, south of Cawdor, the B9090 and the A9. Vehicles will only operate in business hours, Monday to Friday, and drivers will be instructed to take every care on rural roads and within communities.
“This activity will not have any impact on the current water supply to the area. We would like to thank residents and road users for their patience and understanding while this essential work takes place.”
Work has also been progressing well on construction of a new £3.4 million drinking water storage tank at Urchany, which will enhance Nairn’s current water supply and replace existing tanks at Urchany and Raitloan. Main construction work at the site is now complete and the new twin cell tank is expected to come into service this summer.
