A Co. Derry farmer has been convicted by Magherafelt Magistrates Court for water pollution offences.
Adrian Bates (39) of Ballyronan Road, Magherafelt, pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined a total of £1,000.
The court heard that on November 27, 2019, Water Quality Inspectors (WQIs) acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) responded to a report of grey fungus in a waterway adjacent to Ballynagarve Road, Magherafelt.
A significant amount of white and grey fungal growth was observed in the waterway and a smell of silage effluent was detected from the water.
The inspectors arrived at a farm at Ballyronan Road where they proceeded to inspect a silage clamp and collection facilities on the farm for water pollution.
They discovered that run-off from a manure heap was entering a storm gully. A storm chamber was examined where the liquid was dark in colour and smelled of silage effluent.
A positive dye test proved the link between the storm chamber and the waterway. In accordance with procedures, a tripartite statutory sample was collected from the concrete storm chamber.
Water pollution found
The sample was analysed and found to contain poisonous, noxious, or polluting matter which was potentially harmful to fish life in the receiving waterway.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, effluents of this nature enrich fungus coverage on the bed of the watercourse which may lead to the destruction of fish spawning sites, as well as starving river invertebrates, on which fish feed, of oxygen.
The inspectors revisited the farm on November 28, 2019 and inspected the storm chamber.
The liquid in the chamber was much cleaner than the previous day, however it remained unfit for discharge to the storm system.