27/06/2005 - A Llangrannog
farmer was given a two year conditional discharge
at Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court earlier
this week (Tuesday) after pleading guilty
to causing slurry to enter a local stream
which drained on to the beach at Llangrannog.
Geraint Griffiths of Morfa Uchaf Farm, Llangrannog,
caused polluting matter to enter controlled
waters contrary to section 85(1) of the Water
Resources Act 1991. He was also ordered to
pay £450 costs to Environment Agency
Wales, which brought the prosecution.
The Court was told that on Wednesday 25 August
2005, an Agency officer attended Llangrannog
beach in response to a report from a member
of the public. The officer discovered what
appeared to be farm effluent flowing in a
stream emerging from a culvert onto the south
side of the beach. The officer followed the
stream as it crossed the beach and eventually
entered the sea at a point some 40 metres
or so from the culvert in the southern area
of the beach. On inspection the sea was discoloured.
The flow of farm effluent was eventually traced
to Morfa Uchaf Farm.
There was a small hole in the earth bank
wall of the slurry store at the farm. A steady
flow of slurry was escaping the store and
entering the nearby ditch, which in turn led
to the south stream. A total of 1.2 kilometres
of the south stream was affected by the pollution.
Analysis of the samples taken of the discharge
itself revealed that it was over 12 times
the strength of raw domestic sewage.
The beach at Llangrannog is an EC designated
bathing water beach and as a result details
of the incident were sent to the Environmental
Health Department of Ceredigion County Council.
The Council responded to the pollution by
displaying red flags on the beach and erecting
signs at access points to the beach warning
against bathing.
This effectively closed the beach for recreational
use over the August Bank Holiday period. Samples
taken from the beach over that period indicated
that the bathing water passed the minimum
mandatory standards required for EC designated
bathing waters but failed the tighter guideline
standards.
Speaking after the case Gareth Jones, team
leader from the Agency’s local environment
management team, said: "This case demonstrates
the impact that such a pollution incident
can have on a local amenity, particularly
during the height of the bathing season. It
is important that farmers regularly check
the condition of their slurry stores to ensure
their integrity and to prevent pollution from
affecting their local community.
It is particularly disappointing that this
incident occurred after the efforts by us,
Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, Ceredigion County Council
and the local community to reduce pollution
so that the highest standards of bathing water
quality could be achieved at Llangrannog.
