Mike Dunning - 16-Jan-2007 - Farmers are being urged to
check their slurry stores after nearly 90,000 gallons of
slurry escaped from a farm near Hartland in North Devon
and polluted a nearby river.
The Agency was alerted by the farmer after he discovered
part of the concrete wall around his slurry lagoon had collapsed.
The spill occurred on Monday (Jan 15) evening and was discovered
earlier today.
An Agency officer arrived on site and found the Abbey River
heavily contaminated by slurry. A member of public later
reported serious discoloration of the river on the outskirts
of Hartland, some distance downstream of the farm.
The pollution occurred close to the source of the Abbey
River that flows across the North Devon countryside between
Clovelly and Hartland for some 8 km before entering the
sea south of Hartland Point.
Agency officers are on site today assessing the impact
of the spill and taking samples from the farm and river.
No dead fish have been found, but because of the large amount
of slurry lost, it is believed some brown trout will have
been killed. Officers will carry out further monitoring
tomorrow to assess the impact of the pollution on riverlife.
‘This was a serious pollution incident that illustrates
how important it is for farmers to regularly check their
slurry stores and carry out any replacements or repairs
before a collapse such as this can occur,’ said Robert Harwood
for the Environment Agency.
‘While not a salmon river, the Abbey River holds a population
of brown trout and other small fish. Those immediately downstream
of the farm are unlikely to have survived such a large pollution
incident. We will continue to monitor the river and will
have a better idea of any damage to riverlife once the pollution
has cleared.’
Agency officers were able to calculate the size of the
spill from a ‘tideline’ left in the slurry lagoon that clearly
showed the amount of material lost. The store measures some
50 metres by 30 metres. It is estimated that approximately
90,000 gallons (400 cubic metres) escaped into the river.
Some also drained into a small area of marshland.
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