Scottish Water has restored another 94 hectares of degrading peatland on the land surrounding Loch Katrine, as part of a project aimed at protecting drinking water quality for its customers in Glasgow.

Work, which began in October 2025, is now complete on the second phase of the planned decade-long project to restore up to 400 hectares of peatland surrounding the loch.

Delivery partner George Leslie has used excavators to create the conditions healthy peatland needs to thrive, focusing on reducing the number of manmade drains and areas of bare peat across the catchment, by blocking up ditches and reprofiling peat hags.

This results in more water being held within the land, helping peat to flourish, and reduces the amount of organic matter being washed into the loch during heavy rain – keeping the quality of the source water high and making the treatment process less intensive.

Loch Katrine supplies drinking water for over a million customers in and around Glasgow.

Scottish Water Project Manager Michael Gilmour said:

“Combined with the first phase of the project, which was carried out at the start of 2025, we have now restored over 200 hectares of peatland surrounding Loch Katrine which is great news – an area equivalent to around 280 football pitches.

“The weather conditions over winter made it very challenging at times in terms of being able to access the areas we are working in, but the team at George Leslie worked hard to ensure that this work was delivered as planned. We are also grateful to The Woodland Trust for allowing us to access the work sites via Glen Finglas.”

Site Manager at George Leslie, Craig McDonald, added:

“Building on the success of last year’s restoration of 110 hectares of peatland at Loch Katrine, we have concluded this year’s programme despite challenging weather conditions with a further 95 hectares restored. The areas rehabilitated last year are recovering well, reducing the amount of brown water entering local watercourses and helping to maintain peatland saturation.

“In addition, increased amphibian activity within the dams created last year provides a strong indication that our efforts are bringing benefits not only to the biodiversity of Loch Katrine, but also increasing its capacity as a carbon store, reducing flood risks, and improving the water quality of the river and its tributaries.”

The project is part of a wider land management plan for the catchment, in partnership with long-term tenant Forestry and Land Scotland, which will also see one of Europe’s largest woodlands created on the surrounding land through the planting and regeneration of native broadleaf trees.

This plan supports the expansion of the Great Trossachs Forest and builds on the peatland restoration work that is also being carried out in the heart of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.

Jared Stewart, who manages Scottish Water’s peatland restoration programme, said:

“It is great to see the progress that is being made on delivering this important project which is a catchment level approach to protecting the source water quality at Loch Katrine for our customers, as well as improving the biodiversity of the area.

“Healthy peatland and woodlands will also play a key role in helping to lock up carbon emissions and supporting our journey to net zero emissions by 2040. A third phase of peatland restoration work will get underway later this year.”

The work at Loch Katrine has received funding through Peatland ACTION, a national programme to restore Scotland’s peatlands. Peatland ACTION funding comes through the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan for Net Zero, with a commitment to invest £250 million to support the restoration of 250,000 hectares of peatlands by 2030.