A DORCHESTER dairy farm has been faced with an eye-watering bill after it was discovered it had allowed cattle slurry to overflow into a nearby river.

The Environment Agency (EA) received a report of pollution at Manor Farm, Hilfield, Dorchester from a member of the public near the village of Leigh, Sherborne in March 2024.

When an EA officer arrived at Bailey Ridge Lane, they noticed an olive-green discolouration in the watercourse that indicated contamination from slurry, as well as significant amounts of foam on the surface of the stream.

Slurry is a semi-liquid mix of animal waste and water that is spread on fields to use as a natural fertiliser.

The EA officer followed the watercourse upstream where it was traced to Manor Farm Dairy in Hilfield.

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While the watercourse appeared to run clear immediately downstream of Manor Farm’s slurry lagoons, there was evidence of a ‘tideline’ of slurry having run approximately 4ft up both banks where slurry had entered the watercourse, at some force, prior to the EA officer’s arrival.

Farmers are being urged to follow advice and guidance on slurry management to avoid environmental harm Picture: EA

The EA said they are unaware of the exact volume of slurry that overflowed, but pointed to evidence of slurry overflowing from the recipient watercourse prior to entering the culvert on to the adjacent road.

An invertebrate ecology investigation was completed shortly after the incident which found there was a pollution by organic material of the watercourse.

This pollution caused a significant deterioration in water quality with the report concluding the slurry spill had a severe impact for 2km with further impact noticeable 4.5km from the source.

Manor Farm Dairy Ltd of Manor Farm appeared before Taunton Magistrates’ Court on October 8. They pleaded guilty to an offence of causing a discharge of poisonous, noxious or polluting matter into a local river.

They were fined £6,000 and ordered to pay costs totalling £10,158.50 The fine was set at £9,000 but reduced for an early guilty plea.

David Womack, senior environment officer, said: “This incident was avoidable. Regulations requiring farmers to be able to securely store a minimum of four months slurry production have been in place since 1991.

“Wetter weather and TB restrictions contributed to larger volumes of slurry being produced in this instance which is why farmers are advised to regularly look at their slurry stores.

“If they have concerns about not having sufficient capacity, we recommend they contact us. We can give advice on current legislation, help ensure slurry calculations are accurate and reduce the pollution risk by identifying non-compliant structures.

“If an incident does occur, we would urge those responsible to report it as soon as possible to the Environment Agency. This can help reduce any environmental impact. Incidents can be reported 24hrs a day on 0800 80 70 60.”

Guidance for farmers on appropriate storage is available on the Gov.uk site: Storing silage, slurry and agricultural fuel oil – GOV.UK