River South Esk catchment

The South Esk river system rises in the Eastern Cairngorms and travels down through Glens Clova and Prosen, across the productive, agricultural land of Strathmore, before entering Montrose Basin and finally the North Sea. 

The river is vital for the local economy, supporting the farming, forestry, fisheries, tourism and leisure sectors. The river is also important in ecological terms, providing home to internationally significant populations of Atlantic salmon and freshwater pearl mussels. These species prompted the South Esk to be designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the European Union (EU) Habitats Directive. 

Summary of catchment walk findings

As part of efforts to improve water quality in the South Esk, SEPA staff walked approximately 400km of the river and its tributaries during April and May 2010.  The focus of this work was to collect information on diffuse pollution sources, notably, breaches of the Diffuse Pollution General Binding Rules (DP GBR’s).  In total, 95 cases of good practice such as the presence of buffer strips and water troughs were noted, along with 504 breaches of the DP GBR’s.

The main diffuse pollution issues found related to livestock poaching or erosion within 5m of a river or burn and land being cultivated within 2 metres of a river or burn (DP GBR’s 19 and 20 respectively). This map shows the findings.

As well as collecting information on diffuse sources of pollution, the surveys also recorded issues relating to:

  • septic tanks and other point source pressures;
  • the presence of invasive non-native species such as Giant hogweed and Himalayan balsam;
  • flytipping;
  • the presence of structures such as dams and weirs, bank protection and alterations to the natural shape of the river e.g. channel straightening or dredging.

This information will be shared with members of the River South Esk Catchment Partnership and land managers, to help drive improvement across the catchment.

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