A County Fermanagh farmer, Richard Trevor Simpson (46) from Ardvarney Road, Ederney was convicted on Monday, December 19 at Enniskillen Magistrates’ Court for a water pollution offence.

Mr. Simpson pleaded guilty and was fined £1,500 plus a £15 offenders levy.

The court was told that on October 20, 2021 a Senior Water Quality Inspector (SWQI) acting on behalf of Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) discovered a poor quality discharge from a farm at Ardvarney Road, Ederney.

Silage effluent was observed seeping from silage bales stored at the rear of the farmyard.

Silage effluent was noted ponding at a number of locations and seeping through the silo walls. Effluent was entering a stormwater drainage system and discharging to the nearby waterway.

In accordance with procedures a tripartite statutory sample of the active discharge was collected and analysed and found to contain poisonous, noxious, or polluting matter which was potentially harmful to fish life in the receiving waterway.

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 both fish and river invertebrates, on which fish feed, of oxygen.

Effluents with high ammonia content, as was the case with this one, are also directly toxic to fish life in receiving watercourses.

Anyone wishing to report a pollution incident can call the 24 hour Water Pollution Hotline on: 0800 80 70 60.