Giant Hogweed on the upper Tay

Here is some giant hogweed found by Kristina Hayward just below Aberfeldy, with the only previous record of the species found on a side tributary above the town. As their name suggests, "invasive species" spread quickly. There has also been a record this summer up in Killin, on some soil brought in to a brown-field site in the town. Himalayam balsam also seems to have spread greatly this summer.

We have been frustrated in recent years trying to get some funding to deal with these invasive species. Funders wont fund this because they expect the Scottish Rural Development Programme to do so. They wont fund it unless every landowner within an area enters a seperate contract. This is expensive....so they dont. Result is that what was a minor problem is now rowing.

Upper Lochay yesterday

Despite the drought conditions earlier this summer, there is still a decent flow in the upper river at present, more than there usually is under abstracted conditions.

Low water levels in the lower Lochay

Water guage

Lochay Power Station

The Lochay power station is shut down for refurbishment at the moment. There is no water being extracted from the upper catchment, and no compensation flow coming back through the pipes from Glen Lyon either, hence the low water levels in the bottom part of the river. Part of the Drumchroisk basin is extracted towards Ben Lawers, but other than that, this is more or less a natural flow in the Lochay under dry conditions. Interestingly however, even with the very dry summer, in the upper river where the best juvenile habitat is, there is still a much greater area of gravel covered by water than there would be in most normal years when water was getting abstracted.