It has come to our attention that there are plans to modify water flow on the Doon.

There is talk about about 30% of the flow being diverted throughout the year, although the actual application is yet to be submitted to SEPA.

The Doon is currently one of the few natural rivers in the UK that can be paddled just about all year round, and so any variation in current flows will have a significant impact on us. I have contacted the person at Scottish Power who is involved in the SEPA application to modify flows, and opened up lines of communication between us and the Kyle Kayak Club. He has forwarded me the following Press Release regarding the Scottish Power plans:

Scottish Power issued the following statement to Between The Lines (19th May) following a request for an explanation about why it was necessary to change river abstraction levels.

"In order to meet the forthcoming requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive, Scottish Power have been working on proposals in conjunction with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and independent Ecological Consultants to identify the best outcome for the water bodies affected by their operations in the Galloway Hydros Scheme.

Independent consultants have been commissioned to look at the implications for the ecology of these water bodies in the event that certain compensation flows throughout the scheme were varied in line with guidance issued by the SEPA. There are currently a number of water bodies within the scheme that do not achieve SEPA’s criteria for Good Ecological Potential in terms of flows.

Scottish Power are reviewing the potential to increase the compensation flow in a number of water bodies in the scheme to meet the required status of good ecological potential. A number of other initiatives designed to enhance the ecology of these water bodies such as variable flow regimes that replicate more natural river flow conditions and the installation of additional fish passes , are also being considered.

A good example of how we could improve the Doon is related to compensation flows. Compensation flows currently applied to the Doon, are significantly higher than the minimum requirement that SEPA would require for good ecological potential to be achieved. We are therefore considering the feasibility of a reduction in this baseline compensation flow to allow greater flexibility for variable flows and freshets i.e. to replicate natural conditions in the Doon and in other parts of the Hydro scheme.

We continue to work closely with SEPA in preparing a specification for a suitably designed independent Environmental Impact Assessment which will include site monitoring to identify any impacts of changes in river compensation flows.Any future proposals for amendments to compensation flows in the Galloway Hydros Scheme will be submitted to SEPA for their consideration as per licence requirements. SEPA are obliged to consult statutory consultees as part of the licence variation determination process."

Regards,Stuart Ferns | Hydros Manager | Glenlee Power Station | New Galloway | DG7 3SF 

I personally believe the the best approach the club can take is to work with Scottish Power to find ways that flows can be modified in a way that is sympathetic to our needs. In previous years, Scottish Power have provided increased flows on certain dates in the year for the Doon raft race, and Stuart suggests this is possible in the future, allowing us to run events such as White Water races or Slaloms with reliable water levels.

This matter will be brought up at the forthcoming committee meeting, so do watch the web site for the date and location of this meeting if you have a view on this matter.

You can get alternative views on the proposal from the following sites:

http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/27362.html

If you use Twitter, you can also find and follow a user called "savethedoon" to be kept up to date.