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POLLUTION ALONG THE RIVER LAGAN
By the time the Lagan reaches the first bridge at Dree Hill the
stream has grown to over a metre wide. The river water is still
unpolluted and many creatures that can only survive in clean water
live here.
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Click on the picture to see what
happens when a river becomes polluted. |
As the river flows on it becomes more polluted. Chemicals used
as fertilisers to help crops grow, and pesticides used to kill plant
pests, can get into the water and kill all the animals. Most farmers
use these chemicals responsibly, but others are careless and allow
them to get into the river. "Slurry" (runny manure spread
on fields as a fertiliser), and liquid from silage will also destroy
river life if they get into the water. Silage is cut grass wrapped
in black polythene and used to feed animals in winter. You can see
the big black bales lying the fields waiting to be used from late
summer onwards.
Litter, pollution from factories and sewage also pollute the river
and reduce the number of different types of animals that can live
in the Lagan.
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