Wash Wise: Protecting Scotland’s Burns and Waterways

(Image credit - Ronan Dugan)

Did you know that washing your mountain bike in a burn, river or other natural water way post ride, can cause real damage to the environments we all value.

While it might seem harmless, and you may not even have thought about this, washing bikes in natural watercourses can have the following negative effects:-

• Releases silt, oils, grease and other contaminants straight into the habitat of fish, insects, and other wildlife. These pollutants can really affect water quality and harm fragile ecosystems.
• Increases turbidity (water cloudiness) and causes siltation. This settles on the riverbed, damaging habitats by smothering fish eggs and the breeding grounds of species like trout and salmon.
• Mud carried from one trail to another can carry tree pests, fungi, and bacteria. Washing this mud off in a river can easily spread diseases between forests and different ecosystems.
• There’s also a risk of spreading invasive non-native species when bikes and gear are cleaned in natural water. Even tiny plant fragments or microscopic organisms can travel downstream and take hold, disrupting native habitats.