Ponds in Aberdeenshire that are home to a huge variety of wildlife could be impacted by water pollution, Aberdeenshire Council fears.
The three ponds in Denman Park in Westhill are habitats for a range of creatures, from tiny bugs like pond-skaters and diving beetles to birds like ducks and herons.
But recently, the council has discovered cloudy water seeping into them from unknown sources.
The beauty spot receives its water from rainwater drains in adjacent areas of Westhill from Morven Crescent near the golf course in the north, to Westhill Drive in the east and Westwood Grove in the west.
Both the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) and Scottish Water have been working together to test the manholes upstream of the ponds to try and find out where the wrong kinds of fluids have been poured down a rainwater drain.
The council has now called on residents living close to Denman Park to make sure their drain connections are not contributing to the problem and endangering the wildlife that live in the ponds.
Steven Gray, environment planner for the council, said: “If you live in the middle section of Westhill then you can help improve the ponds’ water quality by checking that your rainwater drains which remove surface water are not connected to the foul/sewer drains which take bathroom and kitchen waste water.”
Residents carrying out external painting, waterproofing or cleaning works have also been told not to pour any leftovers or clean-up water into kerbside road drains, as they too will flow into the ponds.
Westhill and District councillor Ron McKail said: “This issue crops up periodically, if the water is cloudy and has been affected by whatever is coming into the steam then the insects and whatever else is living in the water is at risk, there could very well be an adverse effect so it is concerning to see.
“People should be making sure their water systems are correct, so they are not potentially causing this problem.”
The Aberdeenshire Ranger Service has been working with Westhill Academy’s biology department, where pupils used the ponds for freshwater sampling as part of their course work.
Other species recorded at the ponds include minnows, pond snails, newts, freshwater shrimp and frogs.
To report any pollution at the ponds, you can call Sepa on the organisation’s pollution hotline on 0800 807060, or by visiting www.sepa.org.uk
