Soiled Water Management

Soiled water comes from concentrated areas, hard standing areas, holding areas for livestock, and other farmyard areas where there is contact with any of the following substances: 

  • livestock faeces or urine.
  • silage effluent.
  • chemical fertilisers.
  • washings such as vegetable washings, milking parlour washings or washings from mushroom houses.
  • water used in washing farm equipment.

 

Soiled water impacts water quality negatively because of the nutrients and sediment it carries. The main nutrients are Nitrogen and Phosphorus, which enrich the water causing plant and algal growth. These plants disrupt the natural ecology of the river system. Sediment has a negative impact on waterbodies because it carries nutrients with it and physically clogs up the spaces on the bed of waterbodies where fish spawn.

Clean water from roofs and unsoiled paved areas should be diverted away from soiled yards & prevented from entering storage facilities for slurry etc. The separation of clean and dirty water requires careful planning, and regular maintenance of guttering and down pipes. All clean water should be directed away from organic fertiliser storage facilities into a sealed storm water system. This means the valuable storage capacity for potentially polluting materials can be maximised.

All soiled waters must be collected and stored to prevent runoff or seepage, directly or indirectly, into groundwaters or surface water until applied to the land.

Soiled water storage and management – To reduce the impact of nutrient losses in the riskiest period, the spreading of soiled water will be prohibited between 1st and 31st December 2024 with exception of winter/liquid milk producers.

All holdings producing soiled water must have minimum 31 days storage from 1st December 2024 with exception of winter/liquid milk producers where storage must be in place by 1st December 2025.

Allowing soiled waters, slurry, effluent or manures to discharge to a drain or watercourse is an offence under the Water Pollution Acts and the Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Waters Regulations (Nitrates or GAP Regulations).

For further information or any other queries, you may have regarding protecting water quality, please contact the Environment Section of Cavan County Council on 049 437 8486 or alternatively at environ@cavancoco.ie