This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Report shows way to cleaner bathing waters - Finnie
22/05/2001
A report on agricultural activity in Ayrshire has been welcomed as a positive contribution to cleaning up the area's bathing waters by Minister for Environment and Rural Development Ross Finnie.
The report on the Impact of Agricultural Practices and Catchment Characteristics on Ayrshire Bathing Waters was produced by the Scottish Agricultural College and assesses the impact of waste management practices on water quality particularly during the bathing season.
Ross Finnie said:
"In recent weeks the full attention of the farming community has, quite correctly, been focussed on fighting foot and mouth disease. However now that the signs of recovery are becoming clearer, we can look again at wider issues, including the interaction between farming and the environment.
"Today's report clearly shows that, by adhering to established good practice, farmers can play a major role in reducing river pollution. The work by the Scottish Agricultural College in the Irvine and Girvan catchments, and the co-operation that the National Farmers' Union of Scotland offered, coincided with local bathing waters passing European standards. I do not think this is an accident but an example of what can be achieved by working in partnership to clean up our shared environment.
"Many farmers are already following good practice to protect the water environment and I would like to see others follow their example."
Issues highlighted in the report included the need for farmers to keep slurry and other waste stores watertight, and for care to be taken when applying slurries and animal manures to land to limit the risks of polluting watercourses. Slurry should not be considered a waste but rather a valuable source of nutrients. Livestock slurries and manures could benefit soil fertility, grass and crop growth, reducing the need for inorganic fertilisers.
Mr Finnie concluded:
"It is especially important that this report's findings are taken forward during the bathing season to ensure compliance with European standards for water quality.
"But this study is only part of the work being taken forward to improve standards at Scotland's bathing waters. We are also looking to establish the nature of links between agriculture and bathing water contamination, and are examining the wider reasons for bathing water failures.
"Cleaner water is something that benefits us all and we all have a part to play in improving water quality."
BACKGROUND
1. The SAC report Impact of Agricultural Practices and Catchment Characteristics on Ayrshire Bathing Waters is available from the Central Research Unit at the Scottish Executive, and on the Executive's website.
2. The PEPFAA (Prevention of Environmental Pollution from Agricultural Activity) Code was published by The Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department in 1997. It was prepared with the help of the Scottish Agricultural College and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) via membership of the Scottish Agricultural Pollution Group.
3. The Code examines a broad range of agricultural activities. It gives advice on pollution risks, on environmental legislation, and on cost-effective ways of reducing or avoiding pollution, as well as giving a range of useful contacts. The Code is available from SERAD local offices, and SEPA provides a copy to each of the farms it inspects.
4. The report by SAC is the first stage of a research project commissioned to examine diffuse and point source agricultural pollution, and consider if this is affecting the Ayrshire bathing waters. SAC cannot definitively say at this early phase of the study whether there are significant effects. It is able to conclude, however, that there are agricultural practices which can and do cause pollution to the water environment.
5. SAC has identified 4 ways farmers could take simple cost effective measures to protect the water environment further:-
- Reducing the volume of storage required by diverting clean water from contaminated areas;
- Collection and containment of all sources of slurry and dirty water within a storage system;
- Regular inspection and maintenance of manure storage facilities; and
- Development of Farm Waste Management Plans and Farm Gate Nutrient Budgeting Plans, taking account of local conditions, to identify pollution risks and assist with maximising manure as a nutrient source.
6. By law slurry in all its forms (e.g. from byres, middens, cubicle houses, high-level slatted buildings and field run-off) must be collected in structures that comply with the Control of Pollution (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) (Scotland) Regulations 1991.
7. It is illegal to discharge poisonous or noxious material (e.g. slurry) to a watercourse, either directly or indirectly, under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (as amended). SEPA enforces this legislation and encourages farmers to adopt management practices that avoid the need for such regulation to be used.
8. The bathing season in Scotland runs between 1 June and 15 September.
News Release: SE1308/2001
22 May 2001