The number of water pollution incidents caused by farms is at its lowest level in 15 years, according to new data published by the NI Environment Agency (NIEA).

There were 253 cases where a farm was deemed by NIEA to be the source of a water pollution incident last year. The figure is down from 296 cases the year previous and compares to 343 incidents in 2019.

The number of farm pollution incidents that impacted water quality during 2021 is the second-lowest on record. The lowest total occurred in 2006 when 228 pollution cases related to agriculture were recorded.

Down

Overall, farming accounted for 29% of all confirmed water pollution incidents in NI last year. This compares to 31% in 2020 and 36% the year before that.

However, across the six categories of pollution sources, agriculture is still responsible for the highest number of cases in NI.

It is followed by domestic pollution incidents with 21% of all cases, 18% of incidents are described as “other” and 17% of cases originate from industry.