A FARMER in County Fermanagh has been fined for polluting roughly 600 metres of waterway.
William Graham, 65, of Drumgoon Manor, in Maguiresbridge, pleaded guilty to the charge at Enniskillen Magistrates Court this week.
He was fined £300 plus £15 offenders levy.
The court heard that Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) Water Quality Inspectors became aware of the incident while assessing tributaries of the Tamlaght Stream, between Enniskillen and Lisbellaw, in Fermanagh in November 2023.
One tributary, located close to a farm premises, was grey in colour and had a coating of sewage fungus visible on the bed of the waterway, below a storm pipe.
Upon visiting the farm the inspectors discovered a poor quality discharge, dark in colour and with an agricultural odour, flowing from a storm water manhole to a nearby waterway.
A dye test confirmed the link between the storm water manhole and the pollution which impacted approximately 600m of the waterway.
“As part of the investigation, analysis of a statutory sample of the discharge indicated the presence of poisonous, noxious or polluting matter which would have been potentially harmful to aquatic life in a receiving waterway,” a spokesperson for the NIEA said.
“Anyone wishing to report a water pollution incident can call the 24 hour NIEA Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60,” they added.