Somerset farmer fined nearly £5k for polluting Fivehead river
Date of alert:
Wednesday, 10 April 2024
Crime Ref:
Force:
Avon & Somerset Constabulary
A Somerset farmer has been fined and ordered to pay costs totalling nearly £5,000 after silage effluent polluted the Fivehead river close to his farm.
44-year-old Daniel Macey of Underhill Farm, Staple Fitzpaine, near Taunton, was ordered to pay a total of £4,821.21 in fines and costs after he admitted causing pollution to enter the river.
A water sample had “significant discolouration and an unpleasant odour” while monitoring equipment showed dissolved oxygen levels of below 12%.
An unpolluted watercourse would be expected to have oxygen levels above 70%.
The attending officers traced the source of the pollution to Underhill Farm, where they spoke to Macey, who said he had an issue with a silage clamp approximately four days earlier.
He added that the reception tank for the silage clamp had been emptied a number of times to prevent further effluent reaching the river.
Analysis of the effluent showed it was approximately six times more polluting than untreated human sewage. Upstream of the farm no evidence of pollution was found.
