Water Service step in to deal with pollution emergency

An emergency tankering operation has had to be carried out following the discovery of an unauthorised discharge into the Killymoon River at Sandholes, Cookstown.

An urgent investigation was held at the site after the Water Service received reports of the pollution incident on Tuesday 24 July from the Environment and Heritage Service (EHS). Water Service staff immediately organised emergency tankering to intercept the incoming flow to the works and reduce the continuing effect of any pollutant on the river.

The incident follows a similar event on Monday 16 July, when the EHS was notified that a pollutant - believed to be an industrial detergent - had entered the waste water treatment works at Ballynure, County Antrim, with reports being issued on the same day of a major fish kill in the Sixmilewater, renowned as a high quality-angling river.

While an emergency operation had commenced to prevent the pollutant from reaching the river, investigation by staff from the Fisheries Conservancy Board (FCB) found that, in spite of the determined efforts of the Water Service to contain the pollutant within the works, a proportion had managed to infiltrate the Sixmilewater.

Environment Minister, Sam Foster, has published proposals for regulations to give the DoE strengthened powers to protect waterways from farm pollution, which will cover the storage of three types of potentially polluting materials held on farms – silage, slurry and agricultural fuel oil.

Setting the context for the new powers, the Minister explained: " Last year, in Northern Ireland farm pollution accounted for 31 per cent of total pollution incidents. Silage, slurry and fuel oil were the sources of 77 per cent of farm pollution events.

" High standards of water quality will increase the attractiveness of our rural areas as centres of tourism, recreation and development. This will help develop a diversified rural economy, and assist in the development of a sustainable relationship between agriculture and the environment."

(CL)