Water Protection: Rules 2 and 4 – Storing and Spreading Organic Manures

Sunday 29th April 2018 in Uncategorised

Rule 2: storing organic manures
Organic manures must not be stored on land:

• within 10 metres of inland freshwaters or coastal waters
• where there is significant risk of pollution entering inland freshwaters or coastal waters
• within 50 metres of a spring, well or borehole

Rule 4: where not to apply organic manures
Organic manures must not be applied:

• within 10 metres of any inland freshwaters or coastal waters, or within 6 metres of inland freshwaters or coastal waters if precision equipment is used
• within 50 metres of a spring, well or borehole

Why is this happening?

Water pollution from agriculture damages our rivers and seas, it also affects the economy. Water bills include the cost of extra water treatment, poor water quality impacts on tourism and affects our shellfish industry. Diffuse pollution comprises lots of small pollution incidents, which alone have little impact but together are damaging. These rules for water are for farmers to work with to address pollution risks as a community, in a proportionate and collaborative way.

Savings can be made by using fertiliser more effectively and, through good practice can avoid pollution. Most farmers already do this as part of Good Agricultural Practice but these rules create a level playing field on which all farmers compete.

The rules have been drawn up with farming and environment representatives to make them practical, risk based and capable of preventing and reducing agricultural pollution. They encourage the farmer to think about the risk of water pollution, how to keep valuable topsoil on their fields and to apply fertilisers only when it is appropriate to do so.