A Scottish river, inaccessible to fish for over 100 years, has been reopened using an innovative approach to remove a disused weir.

The Davington weir on the White Esk River in Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway, was close to a British Geological Survey (BGS) geophysical station used to monitor global earthquakes and magnetic fields - requiring a unique and careful approach for removal.

Monitoring instruments are particularly sensitive to vehicles and vibrations, so using heavy machinery was not viable.

In a first for weir removal in Scotland, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Ayrshire Rivers Trust (ART) explored a low-impact method to remove the weir without affecting how instruments perform.

By pouring expanding grout into holes drilled into the weir, the land was not exposed to unnecessary vibrations and watercourse pollution was minimised.

After leaving the grout to weaken the concrete, ART removed the larger cracked pieces and then took meticulous care hand-drilling the remaining concrete from the weir - making it easier and quicker to remove from the watercourse.

The low-impact technique brings benefits including being cleaner and quieter as well as quicker delivery times at lower costs.

Julia MacPherson, SEPA’s river restoration specialist for the Water Environment Fund (WEF), said, “The Davington weir removal was a great project to work on because we were able to achieve positive improvements to the burn and surrounding area in a short space of time. The channels around the rock now allow fish to swim through to the valuable upstream habitat giving our wild fish a better chance of thriving as the climate changes.

“This project perfectly rounds off another productive year delivering WEF projects to communities across Scotland, showcasing a unique technique that has the potential to be used in other WEF projects in the future. It is a testament to the essential work SEPA supports with WEF, enabling more rivers to be restored and reopened to fish across Scotland.”

Improving fish migration

Before work began, healthy populations of salmon, brown trout, and eel were rescued downstream from the weird, however, upstream the numbers were much lower, proving the impact the weir was having on their movement and the need to improve Scotland's rivers for migratory fish.

Struan Candlish, fisheries biologist for ART, said, “ART were pleased to win the tender for the removal of Davington weir at Eskdalemuir on the Esk Catchment. Using demolition grout to remove a weir is a first for Scotland and will no doubt become an invaluable tool in removing barriers to salmon, trout and eel migration and restoring the ecology of damaged rivers.

“There were many lessons from this project that we will take forward and employ across Ayrshire to reconnect fish to their native habitats. Removing barriers is one of the quickest ways of increasing fish populations and helps meet Scotland’s environmental targets.”

Claire Brown, BGS Eskdalemuir site manager, said, “WEF representatives willingly assisted with every step of the process ensuring that the requirements of the BGS site were met. As a result, the weir was successfully removed in October 2024 and SEPA is now in the process of hiring a contractor to complete the last phase of the work to improve habitat with riverside tree planting.

“BGS are delighted to have been involved in this project knowing that removal of the weir will have a positive environmental impact, improve habitat quality and leave biodiversity in a measurably better state for the future. As a result of such collaborative working BGS and SEPA have gone some way to allowing Davington burn to fulfil its ecological potential.”

It was the last project to be completed by the WEF team after SEPA commissioned ART to remove the weir before the winter months set in. The work was carried out collaboratively with ART and two landowners – the BGS and a private landowner.