More than a dozen cars illegally abandoned in a Paisley reservoir are to be removed after nearly five years.
The Lower Glen Dam at Gleniffer Braes Country Park has become a dumping ground for old cars with nine currently submerged.
A joint operation between Scottish Water and Police Scotland in 2018 failed to identify the owners and concluded that it would be safer to leave the cars where they are than to remove them.
Locals complained that the beauty spot was ‘absolutely stinking’ due to low water levels in September last year with the abandoned cars could be seen overturned in the mud.
Scottish Water are now set to undertake a delicate removal operation of the vehicles that has required ‘lengthy and meticulous planning’.
Scottish Water has worked with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the Ayrshire Rivers Trust, and contractors George Leslie Ltd to ensure the environment and the removal team are kept safe during the course of the operation that is expected to begin next month.
The work will involve gradually lowering the water level of the reservoir to a safe level to mitigate any environmental impact and allow the removal operation to get underway.
For health and safety reasons, pathways around the reservoir will be closed off to members of the public while the cars are pulled from the water.
Project Manager Gerry O’Hara said: “We’ve listened to community concerns about the vehicles being in the water and now is the time to act.
“This is such a delicate and sensitive operation and has been months in the planning to ensure there is as little impact on the environment as possible and that our teams are safe.
“Restrictions are in place for everyone’s safety and we would ask visitors to Gleniffer Braes Country Park to respect all signage around the reservoir while these works are carried out.”
Additional mitigation measures will be in place to help avoid any impact on the local water environment, and Ayrshire Rivers Trust will carry out a fish rescue operation.
Once the vehicles have been safely recovered, the water level will be raised back to its normal level.
