'Loads of dead fish' at Mill Lade near Wick
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has issued a statement after it was shown images of a dried up water course near Wick and dead fish in it.
Martin McDonald who lives at March Road, on the outskirts of the town, recently sent images showing the dried up Mill Lade and dead fish within it.
"So sad to all the fish dead and dying in the distillery burn today," he said last week. He claims to have seen "hundreds of dead fish" as he walked along the water course which runs from Loch Hempriggs to the Old Pulteney distillery in Wick. Mr McDonald said many of the young fish were up to six inches long with a few even longer and he sent an image of one which appears to be a young trout.
The Mill Lade was designed by Thomas Telford in the early 1800's to carry water from Loch Hempriggs to the new settlement of Pulteneytown. It runs through the lands of Hempriggs to Roxburgh Road, Pulteneytown, where it then enters the distillery complex, before flowing by an underground channel to the harbour.
Levels of water at Loch Hempriggs are extremely low at the moment, however, and it is the first time production of Old Pulteney has been halted because of low water levels since the summer of 1976. Caithness is being affected by a shortage of rainfall with water levels in Wick River described as "disastrous" for fish stocks – which could potentially affect the river "for years to come", said Ian Cormack, president of Wick Angling Association. Mr Cormack said the problem seems to be confined to Caithness with water levels in rivers south of the Ord being "reasonably good".
Inver House Distillers, the company which owns the Wick distillery, is trying to minimise disruption and is working with the environmental regulator SEPA.
A SEPA spokesperson said: “The Wick catchment is suffering from significant water scarcity, which has led to very low water levels in Loch Hempbriggs which supplies the Mill Lade. Following discussions with SEPA the distillery stopped production and therefore abstracting from the Loch over a week ago. Advice is in place for local abstractors on what actions to take to preserve water supplies, and the latest situation update can be found in our water scarcity situation report, issued every week.
“Everyone knows that water is a vital resource, and we need to get used to the idea that, even in a water-abundant nation like Scotland, it is a finite resource – as shown by the severity of the water scarcity picture in large areas of the country throughout the summer."
The spokesperson said the agency will offer support and guidance, and the latest advice for abstractors can be found at www.sepa.org.uk/environment/water/water-scarcity/advice-for-abstractors.
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Shortage of rain impacts on Caithness rivers and Wick distillery