Groundwater – Aquifers and Wells


Featured

Concentrating on Clean Water: The Challenge of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

Large-scale animal livestock confinement operations generate or pass on water-related costs that must be addressed through public policies that protect producers, consumers and the environment over the long term. Produced for the nonpartisan Iowa Policy Project, this report describes manure-management challenges presented by such operations, as well as potential broader effects on water quality and social and economic impacts in rural communities. The report concludes that stronger regulations and enforcement are needed to assure environmental protection. (Carol Hodne, The Iowa Policy Project, April 2005.) Executive Summary | Full Report

General Resources

American Meteorological Society

Water in the Earth System. Information and links to everything you need to know about water.

Animal Feeding Operations: Effects on Hydrologic Resources and the Environment

Produced by the USGS, this document describes the potential effects of factory farms on the quality of surface water and groundwater resources and air quality. (US Geological Society.)

Assessing the Risk of Groundwater Contamination from Animal Waste Management

Worksheet to help you determine if a CAFO is generating water pollution. It includes definitions that will help you better understand technical language used by the EPA and other clean water act enforcement agencies. (Kansas State University Agricultural Extension.)

EPA Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water

A comprehensive database of safe drinking water violation reports from water suppliers around the country. See how safe your drinking water is! Also from the EPA, Surf Your Watershed is a website designed to help locate, use, and share environmental information about your watershed.

Groundwater.com

An online directory of water information and resources.

Groundwater Atlas of the United States

Describes the location, size, and geologic and hydrologic characteristics of the important aquifers in the United States. (US Geological Survey.)

National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA)

Designed to describe the status and trends in the quality of the Nation’s ground and surface water resources and to provide sound information about the natural and human factors that affect the quality of these resources. (US Geological Survey.)

Nebraska District Proposes Stricter Farming Practices to Deal with Groundwater Quality Problem

A local natural resources district is proposing stricter control of farming practices to deal with nitrate-contaminated groundwater in Holt and Antelope counties, where it could take 40 or 50 years to reduce nitrate levels. (US Water News, December 2002.)

Nitrate: Health Effects in Drinking Water; M. McCasland, N. M. Trautmann & K. S. Porter, Center for Environmental Research et al

Factsheet for consumers about nitrates in drinking water, which can cause “blue baby syndrome.” (Natural Resources Cornell Co-op Extension, 1998.)

Nonpoint Source Web Page

Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution comes from many diffuse sources including livestock waste and is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. Site contains information for students and educators, publications, resources, etc. (US Environmental Protection Agency.)

The Water Systems Council

Answers all kinds of questions about groundwater and well care.

Reports

Cesspools of Shame: How Factory Farm Lagoons and Sprayfields Threaten Environmental and Public Health

Documents how animal waste from factory farms threatens human health and our nation’s rivers. A wonderfully concise handbook for activists. (NRDC and Clean Water Network, July 2001.)

Concentrating on Clean Water: The Challenge of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

Large-scale animal livestock confinement operations generate or pass on water-related costs that must be addressed through public policies that protect producers, consumers and the environment over the long term. Produced for the nonpartisan Iowa Policy Project, this report describes manure-management challenges presented by such operations, as well as potential broader effects on water quality and social and economic impacts in rural communities. The report concludes that stronger regulations and enforcement are needed to assure environmental protection. (Carol Hodne, The Iowa Policy Project, April 2005.)  Executive Summary | Full Report

Congenital Malformations and Maternal Drinking Water Supply in Rural South Australia: A Case-Control Study

Study of mothers and their children born between 1951 and 1979 in an area of Australia where nitrate levels in groundwater were high, and an unusual number of children were born with malformations of the nervous system and other major organs. Full text is not available online, but can be found in libraries that have large journal collections. (American Journal of Epidemiology, 1984.)

Investigation of the Chemical and Microbial Constituents of Ground and Surface Water Proximal to Large-Scale Swine Operations

As a direct follow-up to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) workshop on public health issues related to CAFOs, an investigation of the chemical and microbial constituents of ground and surface water proximal to large-scale swine operations was conducted in Iowa. The goal of this study was to obtain a broad profile of the chemical and microbial constituents of both ground and surface water that were potentially hazardous to human health. (Report to the State of Iowa Department of Public Health, October-December 1998.)

The Ogallala Aquifer

This paper critically examines the impacts of the increasing use of the Ogallala Aquifer, with specific focus on the situation in the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle regions, and the possibility of adopting sustainable development and agriculture practices to curb the increasing aquifer water depletion and deterioration. (The Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, July 2000.)

Potential Impact of Earthen Waste Storage Structures on Water Resources in Iowa

This study, conducted by a geology professor and a hydrologist from Iowa State University and funded by the Iowa state legislature, demonstrates that earthen lagoons and basins holding animal waste create risks for the safety of Iowa’s water supply. The authors evaluate the potential for flooding in areas where these structures are located, as well as seasonal changes in landscape that could affect them. Ultimately, the study recommends changes in the regulations that apply to earthen waste container construction and monitoring. To obtain the entire report, contact the authors or purchase from the Journal of the American Water Resources Association. (William Simpkins and Mike Burkart, 2002.)

Pouring It On: Nitrate Contamination of Drinking Water

Over twelve million people in the United States drink water from nearly 1,000 water systems where some or all of the drinking water supply is contaminated by nitrate at levels above the EPA’s 10 ppm standard. (Environmental Working Group, February 1996.)

Public Health Assessment; Bertrand Creek Area Properties (a/k/a North Whatcom County Groundwater Contamination) Lynden, Whatcom County, Washington

Investigation of the health effects experienced by Washington State residents whose private wells were contaminated by pesticide runoff. The results indicate that there is some elevated cancer risk from consuming contaminated water. (Washington State Department of Health, 2000.)

Quality of Ground Water in Private Wells in the Lower Yakima Valley, 2001-02

A study of private wells in the lower Yakima Valley (WA), home to more than 70 dairies and 62,000 milk cows. Wells in the area neighboring 90% of dairy operations were found to contain much higher levels of nitrate – which can be harmful to human health – than other communities. (Valley Institute for Research and Education, December 2002.)
Fast internet connection: Download Entire Document (4.6 MB)
Slow internet connection: Download in parts: Part 1 (1.2 MB) | Part 2 (1 MB) | Part 3 (1.2 MB) | Part 4 (1 MB)

Spontaneous Abortions Possibly Related to Ingestion of Nitrate-Contaminated Well Water — LaGrange County, Indiana, 1991-1994

Article describing two LaGrange County Health Department investigations of an area in the county where several women suffered recurrent spontaneous abortions. The women lived near a hog factory farm, and the groundwater in the area had been contaminated with nitrates, which have been shown to cause spontaneous abortions in livestock, but no study had been done to document similar effects in humans. (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, July 1996.)

Water and Animal Feeding Operations

Describes the potential effects of Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs) on the quality of surface water, groundwater, and air quality. (US Geological Survey.)

SRAProject Home