Sixmilewater River and its feeder systems have been polluted almost 300 times since 2003, according to figures released this month by Environment Minister Arlene Foster. However, only six fines amounting to a paltry £4,350 have been imposed as a result of prosecutions during that period. The total of 292 pollution incidents has been described as "outrageous" by Green Party South Antrim representative Peter Whitcroft, who has called for higher fines to be imposed on polluters of rivers.
Mr Whitcroft expressed concerns that in the first three months of 2008, the river has already been polluted 13 times. He commented, "If the Sixmilewater River has been polluted this many times in five years, then surely the deterrents are simply not working. The Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) may be bringing pollution cases to court, but clearly it is having little impact on actually preventing pollution. The number of pollution incidents in the river actually went up in 2006/07, when compared to 2004/05. This is simply not good enough."
These figures have again raised of the question of the need for an independent environmental protection agency, with the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland (DoE NI) so far resisting such calls, arguing that the EHS is "protecting Northern Ireland satisfactorily." The statistics show that the bulk of the pollution incidents, 243, were classified as low severity. There were 46 medium incidents spread over the five years and three that were considered high severity - all of which took place in 2006.
A further breakdown of the figures shows that 107 incidents were industry-related, while 48 were attributed to the water service, 33 were connected to farms and 26 were classified as domestic. Transport (22) and other sources (56) made up the remainder of the total.
