Scottish Water is restoring over 500 hectares of peatland in East Ayrshire as part of its bid to protect water quality and cut carbon in the face of climate change.

The project, focused on land surrounding Afton Reservoir near New Cumnock, is the largest peatland restoration scheme carried out by the publicly owned utility company to date and has been split into two phases.

Work on the first phase, totalling almost 300 hectares, is set to be complete before the end of the year, with the second phase also getting underway soon after. This will be split over two seasons, with work on the project as a whole expected to be complete before the end of 2025.

The scheme aims to return the land to a more natural state by closing up the drains which cover much of the area – using a technique called zippering. This allows water to be held within the land, encouraging healthy peatlands and preventing erosion.

“The work we are doing here will reduce the organic matter that is feeding into the reservoir, ensuring the quality of our source water remains high and making the job of treating it less time consuming and costly.

“When peat dries out, it erodes and releases carbon. This project will mean water is held within the land, helping the peatland to restore to its natural state and allowing it to capture carbon very effectively.

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