Water poses a constant management problem for farmers in Northern Ireland (NI). On average around 1000mm of rain falls on every square meter of NI each year. If not adequately diverted and/or collected, this water makes its way across farms picking up nutrients, chemicals and soil.
Valuable nutrients and minerals are then lost to the farm which may be relying on increasingly expensive fertiliser to replace them.
Where the nutrient rich water reaches the river it can damage the river ecosystem. Problems can come from cracks in silage pits and farmyard concrete allowing effluent to run away, there is also a danger of slurry spills from above ground stores or lagoons.