Popular Dumfries and Galloway beach hit by pollution incident after slurry spill

Stephen Norris

28 June 2024 at 2:57 am·2-min read

One of the Stewartry’s most popular beaches was hit by a serious pollution incident after farm slurry spilled into a burn.

Members of the public alerted the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to the slurry leak in the watercourse at Dhoon Bay.

The incident began last Wednesday and SEPA’s bathing water signage was updated to advise against bathing due to potential impacts on water quality.

The warning was lifted the following day after inspection officers judged the water to be again safe for bathers.

Chemical results are awaited to establish whether there has been an impact on the burn’s ecology.

According to the watchdog, the spill was as a result of slurry leaking out from an underground storage tank.

A Scottish Environment Protection Agency spokesperson, said: “SEPA received reports of a pollution incident impacting a watercourse in the vicinity of Dhoon Bay on June 19 and our officers attended the location to investigate.

“While there was no direct discharge from this incident directly into Dhoon Bay bathing water, we issued advice against bathing as a precautionary measure.

“We identified a slurry spill from a nearby farm as the source of the pollution, contacted the farmer and advised them on mitigation measures to put in place.

“The leak appears to have been caused due to a fault in an underground slurry storage tank, which has since been taken out of use.

“We will continue to work with the farmer to drive compliance with regulatory standards.

“While providing advice and guidance to those SEPA regulate will continue to be the main route to securing compliance, we are prepared to take further enforcement action where necessary.”

The spokesperson added: “The pollution incident was resolved on June 20.

“While we await chemical test results, initial ecology results suggest there has been no ecological impact on the watercourse.

“We would urge anyone concerned about a potential pollution incident to submit a report online via our website or contact SEPA on 0800 80 70 60.”

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