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Major Pollution Spill

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 river life.

‘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 river life 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 mall area of marshland.

Members of the public can report pollution incidents by calling the Environment Agency’s free 24 hour hotline 0800 80 70 60.

 

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