AN airborne task force has been called in to help restore historic moors above Huddersfield.

And those behind the scheme hope it will improve the quality of drinking water to thousands of homes.

Yorkshire Water experts are restoring rare natural peatlands in Kirklees, using helicopters to bring in the lime and fertiliser needed to start the growth of key peatland plants.

The lime alters the pH balance of the soil, which helps the grass to germinate. It then stops the peat being washed away.

Peat is too acidic for the grass to easily grow, but needs a covering of plants to keep it damp. The fertiliser will give a good mix of nutrients and help the plants to thrive.

Yorkshire Water is working with the National Trust and Natural England and spending £1m on stabilising and increasing water levels in the peatlands above Wessenden, Blakeley and Butterley reservoirs near Marsden .

It is a process known as re-wetting so that sediment isn’t washed into nearby drinking water reservoirs.

The project is part of a £9m county-wide investment in peatland areas to restore them to their former glory.

Peat washed down into the reservoirs causes the water to be discoloured, meaning that Yorkshire Water has to invest even more in treating the water to ensure it reaches national standards set by the independent regulator.

Andrew Walker, Yorkshire Water’s Catchment Manager, said: “This is the latest stage in the important project to preserve rare peatlands and, in the process, improve water quality.

“We’ve waited until the ground-nesting birds have had their young and flown the nest before starting this next phase.

“Next month we’ll be bringing diggers up to the area to re-profile the eroding gullies which channel water across the moor.

“We recognise that we have the opportunity to make a huge difference to some of Yorkshire’s most iconic landscapes by restoring them back to health, boosting local biodiversity and benefiting the thousands of visitors and user groups who currently derive enjoyment or income from them.

“Our work will also have wider environmental benefits too, as we’ll be protecting and enhancing peatland which serve as some of the largest natural carbon reservoirs in the UK.”

Judith Patrick, property manager for the National Trust, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for us to further our conservation work on a bigger scale than we are normally able. So often we are restricted by staff or financial resource.

“The planned works directly contribute to our Moorland Management Plan and will improve the habitat for our many upland breeding birds for the long term.”

In all some 976 hectares of land on Wessenden Moor will be treated.

The moors are home to bird species, such as merlin, golden plover, curlew, peregrine falcon, lapwing, dunlin snipe, redshank, common sand-piper, short -eared owl, whinchat, wheatear, ring ouzel and twite.