A farmer in County Fermanagh has been convicted of a water pollution offence.

Kevin Leonard, 37, pleaded guilty to the offence of making a polluting discharge to a waterway. He was hit with a £750 fine plus £15 Offenders Levy.

Enniskillen Magistrates' Court heard that on 16 June 2022 Water Quality Inspectors (WQIs) acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) responded to a report of farm effluent entering the Hollow River at Lisnarick, Irvinestown. The WQIs attended the area where they discovered what appeared to be silage effluent impacting the Hollow River for approximately 1km. The WQI observed silage effluent seeping from silage bales, flowing across the yard before entering the Hollow River, via an overflow pipe on the farm.

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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 in this case, 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.