Two Cookstown farmers fined £1,000 each over pollution in Ballinderry river system

Ernest and Kenzil Reid, Drumgrass, Cookstown pleaded guilty and were fined for making a polluting discharge to a tributary of the Lissan Water, part of the Ballinderry River system.

On 5 March 2014, Water Quality Inspectors, acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, investigated a report of pollution in the Lissan Water.

They found a discoloured effluent discharging to the waterway and causing heavy fungal growths for over 300 metres. This pollution was traced back to the Reids’ farm premises, and a statutory sample was collected from the farm effluent discharge.

Anyone wishing to report a pollution incident can call the 24 hour Water Pollution Hotline on 0800 80 70 60.