Camilty Wind Farm - Partnerships for Renewables

Camilty Wind Farm
Table 13.16 Sensitivity of Hydrological, Hydrogeological and Soils Receptors
Receptor Sensitivity Justification
Watercourses Low Narrow rivers of poor water quality and flow regime affected by
abstractions for public water supplies.
Groundwater Low Poor water quality status and groundwater vulnerability generally
between 2 and 3.
Soils and peat Medium Deep peat present in some areas within the site, however not
designated.
Superficial
geology
Bedrock
geology
Private water
supplies
Public water
supplies
Abstractions
and discharges
Low
Low
n/a
n/a
n/a
Comprised diamicton till and alluvium deposits. No designated sites.
No designated sites.
Not further assessed as the nearest supply is more than 500 m from
the proposed site boundary and not within an area
hydro(geo)logically linked with the proposed site.
Not further assessed as there is no water supply infrastructure within
the proposed site.
Not further assessed as there are no abstractions within or near the
proposed site. All discharges unaffected and nearest discharge more
than 600 m from the proposed site boundary.
Summary of the Baseline Conditions
13.3.56 The proposed site is characterised by its generally low-gradient topography and is crossed by
a small river, the Crosswood Burn and its tributary the Powfastle Burn.
13.3.57 There are two statutorily designated sites near the proposed site with relevance to the
hydrology, the Cobinshaw Moss SSSI and the Craigengar SSSI. Both sites are designated
for blanket bog.
13.3.58 The natural hydrological regime of the proposed site has been disturbed by the presence of
active commercial forestry, forestry tracks and the introduction of artificial drainage.
13.3.59 The average peat depth at the site is approximately 1.4 m with a maximum peat depth of
approximately 7 m in parts.
13.4 Topic Specific Design Evolution
13.4.1 During the design evolution process, a buffer of 50 m was established around all natural
watercourses indentified on the 1:25,000 OS map of the area. All proposed infrastructure is
kept outwith this buffer zone except for two watercourse crossings.
13.4.2 The number of watercourse crossings was kept to the absolute minimum necessary. The
location, alignment and structure design were developed to minimise the impact on river
flows and geomorphology.
13.4.3 The results of initial peat probing were used to locate the turbines away from deep peat, or
from peat altogether. Following detailed peat depth surveys and an initial peat slide risk
March 2013
13-19
Copyright Partnerships for Renewables Development Co. Ltd 2013 ©
Hydrology, Hydrogeology and Ground Conditions