River diversion on the Nith
The course of the River Nith was altered at Kier’s Greenburn Surface Coal Mine near New Cumnock, during the second week of August 2012. This was the first of two planned diversions of the river to facilitate the extraction of coal beneath the original channel. Fishery protection measures were incorporated into the project to avoid any potential adverse impacts which could have occurred. A major fish rescue was conducted by members of staff from the Nith District Salmon Fishery Board and the Nith Catchment Fishery Trust. The Team worked systematically over the term of the project to remove fish from the original channel and place them in a safe location. Fish species relocated included thousands of salmon/trout fry and parr, brown trout to 1.5lbs, numerous eels up to 18 inches long, lots of lamprey, minnow, stone loach, a few pike and one grayling. The new channel will be monitored over an extended period to ensure that fish and invertebrate populations recolonize to their former numbers.
The new channel on the left ready to have water diverted into it
Removing fish from the old channel prior to it being diverted
A pike captured during the fish rescue
The Nith in it’s new channel