Ambitious project aims to restore River Cuaich which has been dry for almost 90 years

An ambitious project is under way to return life to a salmon river which has been dry for almost 90 years.

The flow was diverted to accommodate a hydroelectric scheme near Dalwhinnie and bring “power to the glens” to Highland communities.

A year-long, multimillion-pound restoration scheme will restore nature by “re-watering” the River Cuaich which feeds into the Spey.

A three-mile stretch of the tributary has been diverted since 1938 when a new hydro scheme halted its flow.

The project is the brainchild of Roger Knight of the Spey Catchment Initiative charity.

He said: “It’s been a bed of dry stone, pretty much since the Second World War, as the entire flows from this important upper Spey tributary have been diverted out of the Spey catchment to generate hydro electricity.”

Resuming the flow that the Tummel hydro scheme interrupted will reopen habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon to spawn – after an exceptionally dry summer in 2026 that impacted wildlife and whisky production.

“We will be able to boost the water supplies in the lower River Spey and hopefully avoid some of the severe water scarcity issues that these distillers have faced in the past,” Mr Knight said.

“We hope that this will be the first of perhaps several projects that might be undertaken around Scotland, partly to improve the ecology of our rivers but also to help the Scottish Government achieve the requirements of the water framework directive which is a legal obligation of the Scottish Government.”

The project will increase the water supply to local communities. Sediment will be replaced and woodland created along the riverbank to boost biodiversity.

The charity says it should improve sustainability of the river and help ease the biodiversity and climate crises.

It is working with major funder SSE Renewables, The Cairngorms National Park and The Scotch Whisky Association with the support of Phoines Estate.

Andy Jacobs of SSE Renewables, said: “Salmon are in a particularly perilous state just now in terms of their population across Scotland and wider.

“So, to be involved in this, and for myself and for SSE Renewables to be able to play a part, is really something to be excited about.”

The project is expected to be complete before the end of 2027.

As of Thursday, the Spey is at “early warning” on the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s scarcity water scale.

Several rivers are at the highest level. Temporary restrictions on water abstraction are in force elsewhere in Scotland, with some rivers recording their lowest flows on record.

SSE’s operations team will begin moving gravel and sediment into the river channel, returning the material that builds a living riverbed and the spawning gravels salmon depend on.

The work will also raise the riverbed closer to the surrounding land, reconnecting the river to its floodplain so high flows can spill out naturally and ease the flood risk downstream.

Jim McKerracher, head gamekeeper on the estate, said: “This river has been dry for generations. To see it with water again, and Atlantic salmon come back, is something I never thought I’d live to see.”