Surface Water

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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

Information and links to everything you need to know about water.

Animal Feeding Operations

EPA website designed to provide farmers, local watershed environmental groups, and interested citizens with the information, resources, and assistance they need to understand water quality issues associated with animal confinement facilities. The site also outlines strategies that can be used to protect and restore local watersheds.

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.)

Catalog of Federal Funding for Watershed Protection

A searchable database of financial assistance sources (grants, loans, cost-sharing) available to fund a variety of watershed protection projects.

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.)

Microbial Source Tracking Guide Document

Guide document provides an overview of various tools and approaches used to track sources of fecal contamination impacting water quality in streams, rivers, lakes, and marine beaches. Also includes a comprehensive review of the literature and, in some cases, a critical view of the state of the science and current research gaps in Microbial Source Tracking (MST). (US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development, June 2005.)

National Environmental Methods Index

NEMI is a free, online clearinghouse of environmental monitoring methods. This tool can be used by citizen groups, academics, industry, and government agencies to find and share information about environmental monitoring techniques.

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.)

NRCS Water Quality Monitoring Training

NRCS has a self-paced training course on the design of water quality monitoring available to the public free of charge. This site provides information about registration and testing.

Phosphorus from Agriculture

Information about phosphorus management for water quality protection from SERA-17, a group of more than 50 scientists from land-grant universities and government agencies.

Putting Factory Farms to the Test: A Guide to Community-based Water Monitoring

A manual published by Environmental Defense designed to help community groups monitor the effects of local factory farms on nearby water sources. The manual is a step-by-step guide to help community groups start their monitoring program, collect samples, manage data, and put the results to good use in the community.

Source Molecular

A lab that performs DNA tests on water, including a test for E. Coli caused by fecal contamination. View Source Molecular’s Price List.

Water Quality Information Center

Collects, organizes, and communicates the scientific findings, educational methodologies, and public policy issues related to water quality and agriculture. Assists individuals looking for information on water quality topics related to agriculture. (National Agricultural Library, USDA Agricultural Research Service.)

The Water Systems Council

Answers all kinds of questions about groundwater and well care.

Groups

Clean Water Network

The Clean Water Network advocates for control of pollution from factory farms. Their website includes action alerts about relevant legislation.

The Izaak Walton League – Agricultural Programs

This organization advocates farming practices that sustain both natural resources and people, in part through farm bill programs with high conservation and wildlife benefits. The League works to protect water quality by reducing non-point source runoff pollution, particularly from confined animal feeding operations, and established the Fish Kill Advisory Network, which maintains a searchable, online database of fish kills and manure spills in Upper Mississippi River Basin states.

Reports

Androgenic and Estrogenic Activity in Water Bodies Receiving Cattle Feedlot Effluent in Eastern Nebraska, USA

Studies reveal that surface waters throughout the world are contaminated with hormonally active agents, many of which are released from sewage treatment plants. Another potential source of aquatic hormonal contamination is livestock feedlot effluent. This study assessed the extent to which feedlot effluent contaminates watercourses. (Ana M. Soto, et. al, Environmental Health Perspectives, April 2004.)

Agriculture, the Largest Source of Nitrates of the Lower Nooksack River Basin

A news release from the USGS (US Department of the Interior and US Geological Survey, October 4, 1999.)

Bringing Dead Zones Back to Life: How Congress, Farmers and Feedlot Operators Can Save America’s Most Polluted Bays

Agricultural runoff is the leading threat to 13 of the nation’s 17 most polluted bays. This new report by 3 environmental groups lists the bays, examines the problem, and recommends actions. According to the groups, American Rivers, Environmental Defense, and Restore America’s Estuaries, 70% of farmers who seek federal water quality grants are rejected due to inadequate funds. (August 2001.)

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.)

Clean Water Report Card

Forty percent of all US waters are not fishable or swimable, according to the EPA. Much of the problem is due to the fact that regulators have failed to maintain the legal foundation for improving the quality of the nation’s waters: Clean Water Act permits. (Friends of the Earth in partnership with the Environmental Working Group, March 2000.)

Comparison of State NPDES Programs

The Clean Water Act requires all point sources that discharge pollutants in US waters to obtain an NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit. (Natural Resources Defense Council, May 2000.)

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

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.)

Impacts of Waste from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) on Water Quality

This scientific workgroup report provides an overview of the environmental and public health impacts of water pollution caused by factory farms. (Environmental Health Perspectives, November 2006.)

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.)

Issues in Ecology

A continuing series designed to present major ecological issues in an easy-to-read manner. Topics include non-point pollution of surface waters with phosphorus and nitrogen, and nutrient pollution of coastal rivers, bays, and seas. (Ecological Society of America.)

Municipal Drinking Water Nitrate Level and Cancer Risk in Older Women: The Iowa Women’s Health Study

Scientists have found that long-term exposure to nitrate, even at low levels, is linked to an elevated risk of bladder cancer and ovarian cancer. View press release. (Epidemiology, May 2001.)

National Coastal Condition Report

This federal “report card” confirms the declining quality of US coastal waters and the threat that this trend poses to both humans and marine life. A National Academies report calls for a national strategy to combat nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in coastal waters. The overabundance of these nutrients – often from agricultural runoff, sewage treatment plants, and fossil fuel emissions – is causing serious environmental damage on all of the nation’s coasts. (EPA Office of Water, 2001.)

National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment: Effects of Nutrient Enrichment in the Nation’s Estuaries

A comprehensive assessment of the causes, effects, and damage inflicted upon the nation’s estuaries from excess nutrients, including those found in animal waste. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Department of Commerce, September 1999.)

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

Key documents related to the EPA’s proposed revisions to the NPDES Regulations & Effluent Guidelines for CAFOs. (US Environmental Protection Agency.)

Nitrogen and the Upper Mississippi River

Explores the debate about the future of the upper Midwest landscape. Addresses options that can reinvent the agricultural systems of the Corn Belt, (coinciding with the Upper Mississippi River Basin) moving this area from dependence on a grain economy with low economic returns and high nutrient and sediment runoff, to a more ecological-based landscape. (Dennis Keeney, Mark Muller, Institute for Agricultural and Trace Policy, September 2000.)

Nonpoint Pollution of Surface Waters with Phosphorous and Nitrogen

This scientific review article identifies excess fertilization and manure production on agricultural lands as a significant and growing source of nitrogen pollution in surface waters. (Stephen Carpenter, et al. Issues in Ecology, Summer 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.)

Percentage of Stream Nitrogen Reaching the Gulf of Mexico

This map uses color representation to indicate the likelihood that nitrogen released into a stream will be transported into the Gulf of Mexico. The site also includes background information about the subject. (US Geological Survey, 2000.)

Pharmaceuticals, Hormones, and Other Organic Wastewater Contaminants in US streams, 1999-2000: A National Reconnaissance

Also see Target Compounds for National Reconnaissance of Emerging Contaminants in US Streams, which breaks down the findings in an easy-to-read format. (US Geological Survey, March 2002.)

Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems: Freshwater Systems

The world’s freshwater systems are so degraded that their ability to support human, plant and animal life is severely jeopardized. As a result, many freshwater species are facing rapid population decline or extinction, and an increasing number of people will experience serious water shortages. (World Resources Institute, October 21, 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.)

The Potential Impact of Flooding on Confined Animal Feeding Operations in Eastern North Carolina

This analysis suggests that flood events have a significant potential to degrade the environment due to dispersion of wastes from industrial animal operations in areas with vulnerable populations. (Link is to abstract; must subscribe for full article) (Environmental Health Perspectives, April 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 22, 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 Dept. of Health, 2000.)

Recent Research on Antibiotic Resistance and Animal Agriculture

A compilation of facts from recent research on airborne and waterborne antibiotic resistant bacteria and concentrated animal feeding operations. Includes results of studies reviewing the levels of airborne antibiotic-resistant pathogens in human habitats downwind from animal confinement facilities and the potential aerial transfer of antibiotic resistance to humans and the environment. Also includes facts about the danger of pig house dust to farmers and the evolution of antibiotic-resistant genes generated on farms and propagated in the environment through groundwater. (July 2005.)

Runoff Management

Describes run-off prevention methods to prevent pollution from animal agriculture. (Professor Dwayne Edwards and colleagues at the University of Kentucky’s Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering.)

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.)

Working for Clean Water and Thriving Farms: Profiles of Farms in the Clean Water Farms Project

A 120-page report by the Kansas Rural Center that describes the efforts of Kansas farmers and ranchers to protect water quality. The full-color book features 25 of the 36 farmers and ranchers, who raise both crops and livestock, conducting on-farm demonstrations in the KRC “Clean Water Farms Project.” The profiles provide effective examples of low-cost, management-based options for on-farm water quality protection. The report also includes an Appendix that profiles 8 farms involved in the Kansas Biological Survey’s on-farm water quality monitoring program. Copies are available for $12.00 each. Contact KRC at 785-873-3431 or email ksrc@rainbowtel.net. (February 2002.)