FEARS have been raised about the possibility of raw sewage contaminating the River Faughan following flooding from a sewer on farmland in the Ardmore area of Derry.
“It affects my work, I have the fields to keep to a standard by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the cattle will have to be removed from the field which will leave me having to source food from somewhere else.
“I’ve been left in limbo and have to figure something out,” he added.
“We need to be very mindful that it is in very, very close proximity to the River Faughan where we have anglers fishing and I would have a worry about that.
“And remedial work that has been done wasn’t done correctly as there are porous pipes that sewage shouldn’t be allowed to run through.” Alderman Devenney said concerns were raised about raw sewage running into the Faughan and answers need to be provided as to how the sewage flood occurred and what has to be done to prevent a recurrence.
In response a spokesperson from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs(DAERA) said: “A report of water pollution was passed to NIEA Water Quality Inspectors by Derry & Strabane District Council on 19th June 2018.
“The investigation found that a sewer was discharging via a manhole into a field but there was no discharge of polluting material to the Faughan River or any other waterway.” NI Water confirmed that it has been liaising with ‘a customer in relation to out of sewer flooding in a field on farmland in Ardmore’.
The spokesperson commented: “This flooding was a direct result of two severe blockages in the sewer line, caused by inappropriate items being flushed down the sewer and fat, oil and grease being disposed of down the sink.
“This is an extreme example of how the disposal of these items, primarily sanitary items and baby wipes, can impact on others.
“We have carried out a clean-up of the area, but this is having a limited impact due to the sheer size of the area affected and how wet the land currently is.