After 10 years of background work by the River Dee Trust and the Dee Fishery Board, working with SEPA, Dunecht Estates and Aberdeenshire Council, the green light was finally given to take down the Garlogie Dam in Summer 2023, the team from Taziker Scotland then moved in quickly and the dam came down in just a few weeks, with completion at the end of September 2023.

According to heritage records the dam was built in 1923 and stemmed the flow of water in the Leauchar Burn from the Loch of Skene on the Dunecht estate, this meant that there was no access for migratory fish and less than ideal habitat for other forms of wildlife.

The dam stood over 5.7 metres high with a width of nearly 33 metres, so it was a giant barrier to get to grips with and tested some of the specialists that worked on the planning application and the technical details.

Once the dam started to come down and the water was free flowing again the local wildlife started to investigate the new surroundings, the team on site saw a family of otters, a badger set, red kites circling above the area and soon hopefully there will some salmon venturing up the tributary from the main stem of the Dee via the Culter burn and there will be a new generation of Atlantic salmon growing and prospering here.

But this is only the beginning of the recovery and to provide the right habitat for young salmon and trout fry, parr and smolts we need to do some additional work, this will include tree planting so that there is cooling shade for young fish and to lower the temperature of the water in the summer, leaf debris that can fall and provide food for insects and consequently fish. We plan to add some large wood structure to help the flow of the river and provide shelter for young fish from predators and heat. These methods of habitat restoration are already providing improved conditions in other areas of the Dee catchment.

We must do all we can to remove barriers for our precious Atlantic salmon and help them and all wildlife to survive the effects made by man in the industrial revolution and the effects of climate change on our weather patterns. We are already looking at what other barriers on our catchment could be removed and looking for funding to help us to deliver this important work, this project was funded by the WEF (Water Environment Fund) from the Scottish Government and managed by SEPA.

Image here shows the river after the Dam removal on 30th September 2023, already showing signs of recovery.

Have a look on You Tube at the time lapse video of the dam coming down, please subscribe to our channel to see other videos in the future and follow our other social media channels.

Time lapse of Garlogie Dam take down

For more information, please contact debbie@riverdee.org