Shocking photos showed illegally dumped cars being dredged from a reservoir.
Nine cars, some of which were manufactured in the 1980s and 1990s, were lifted from Gleniffer Braes Country Park in Paisley yesterday.
The illegally dumped vehicles have been submerged in the water at Lower Glen Dam for years and the "delicate" removal operation has required lengthy and meticulous planning.
Lower Glen Dam is a small reservoir with an earth embankment dam on the course of the Glen Burn, which is owned by Scottish Water, but not used for drinking water.
Sign up to Glasgow Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox
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.
Before the removal could start, the water level of the reservoir was gradually lowered to a safe level to mitigate any environmental impact.
For health and safety reasons, pathways around the reservoir were closed while work was done.
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."
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.
