Agricultural Pollution

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Agricultural Pollution
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Agricultural pollution includes--

• Manure
• Vegetation wastes
• Dead animals
• Pesticide residue
• Sediment
• Nutrients from the above
• Pathogens

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The Problem

• Agricultural Areas Have the potential to pollute
  water (surface and groundwater) in many ways
• Runoff from farms carries
• Sediment
• Nutrients
• Pesticides
• Fertilizers

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Livestock Waste

• Animal waste (manure and urinary waste) enters
  streams when livestock wade in water. Animal
  wastes deposited in waterbodies can accelerate
  eutrophication and contaminate water used for
  fishing, swimming, and drinking.

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• Agricultural runoff, including fertilizer and
  animal wastes, are one of the leading causes of
  water pollution in the U.S.

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Manure

• Definition
• Conditions
• Storage (lagoons, etc)
• Nutrients
• Pathogens
• Solutions

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Definition

• Manure includes both the feces and the urine of
  the livestock.
• The amount of animal waste produced in the US is
  130 times greater than the amount of human waste.
  There are no federal standards for dealing with
  this manure.

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General conditions

• Twenty thousand to sixty thousand animals are
  crammed into small spaces. Many of the pens have
  slotted floors to allow the droppings to fall
  through. Conditions are crowded and not very
  sanitary.

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• Agricultural runoff in modified stream flow

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Some facts about animal waste

• In 1997, the estimated annual US manure
  production was 1.37 billion tons.
• Over five tons of animal manure is produced each
  year for every person in the US as compared to
  about eighty pounds of solid human waste.
• The manure from a 200-head dairy operation
  produces as much nitrogen as is present in the
  sewage from a community of 5,000 to 10,000 people.

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More facts about animal waste

• The annual litter from a typical broiler house of
  22,000 birds contains as much phosphorus as is
  contained in the sewage from a community of 6,000
  people.
• All types of agricultural land use are considered
  non-point sources, and therefore are not easily
  measured or controlled directly.
• The EPA, in 1994, identified agriculture as the
  main cause of the impairment of water quality of
  rivers and lakes in the US. 65 of surveyed
  river miles in the US were affected by non-point
  sources.

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How is manure dealt with?

• There are several storage methods used for
  dealing with animal waste. These include
  lagoons, both aerobic and anaerobic, as well as
  general storage containers.

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Lagoons

• There are two types of lagoons--anaerobic and
  aerobic. Aerobic are generally larger, though
  anaerobic lagoons decompose more organic matter
  per unit volume.
• Anaerobic lagoons minimize nitrogen levels
• The cost is low and the storage long term
• However, odors are present, and the appearance is
  that of an open pit of waste.
• Lagoons must be lined to prevent seepage of waste
  into ground water.

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Other methods of waste storage

• Above ground waste containers can handle the
  solid wastes.
• Some solid wastes are composted and reused as
  fertilizer.
• The slurry, or liquid waste, is stored in a tank
  or basin until is is applied to the land as
  fertilizer.

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Which type of storage is used where
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Nutrients

• Nitrate and phosphorus are contained in manure.
  They can leach into the ground water and can also
  run off into streams, rivers, and lakes. If this
  happens, something called eutrophication (in this
  case, cultural eutrophication) occurs.

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• When excess nutrients applied to the land in the
  form of manure or commercial fertilizer find
  their way into the water, blooms or overabundant
  growth of algae and other aquatic plants can re

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Effects of eutrophication

• In still water, an overload of nutrients can
  cause the growth of algae, duckweed and
  cyanobacteria. Depletion of oxygen occurs,
  killing fish and other water dwellers. If the
  eutrophication is severe enough, anaerobic
  bacteria can begin to produce gases as products
  of the decomposition, such as hydrogen sulfide
  (toxic) and methane (flammable).

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• Deforestation associated with agricultural
  expansion has left our waters vulnerable to
  pollution from animal waste and fertilizer.

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Effects on Life

• Excess nitrogen due to agricultural runoff is
  dangerous to the health of certain groups of
  people and animals.

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Effects on human health

• Elevated levels of nitrates in drinking water
  (above 45 milligrams per liter) is a health
  hazard for infants, pregnant women, and those who
  have certain enzyme deficiencies. The nitrates
  interfere with the bloods ability to carry
  oxygen, resulting in symptoms such as shortness
  of breath and a bluish tinge to the skin.

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• Many of America's waters have been rendered unfit
  for use due to Agricultural Runoff

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Pathogens

• Five million people die annually from water-borne
  diseases.
• These diseases include ascariasis,
  cyrptosporidiosis, giardiasis, and E. coli.
• Crops most likely to be involved in the spread of
  these diseases are ground crops that are eaten
  raw, such as strawberries, lettuce, and cabbage.

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Ascariasis

• This infection is caused by a worm that lives in
  the small intestine. Females can grow up to
  twelve inches.
• Pigs can become infected with the worm, and if
  their feces contaminates food or water, humans
  can become infected.
• Most people show no symptoms, though if a person
  has a heavy infection, their intestines may
  become blocked.

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E. coli

• E. coli 0157H7 is one of hundreds of strains of
  the bacterium Escherichia coli. Many are normal
  intestinal flora and do not cause illness, but
  the strain produces a powerful toxin.
• E. coli is spread through the feces of cattle or
  humans.
• Symptoms include severe bloody diarrhea and
  abdominal cramps, and can lead to kidney failure.

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Giardiasis

• Caused by a single-celled microscopic parasite
  that lives in the intestines of humans and
  animals.
• Symptoms include diarrhea and upset stomach.
• This illness can be spread through the ingestion
  of contaminated recreational water (swimming
  pools, hot tubs, lakes).

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Cryptosporidiosis

• Caused by a microscopic parasite that lives in
  the intestines of humans and animals.
• Symptoms include diarrhea and stomach cramps.
• This illness is spread by ingesting water or food
  that has been contaminated by fecal matter.

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Solutions

• Establish a maximum number of animals per hectare
  based on the amount of manure that can safely be
  applied per hectare of land.
• Anyone wishing to have more that a given number
  of animals must obtain a license.
• Tax surplus manure.

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Solutions cont.

• Change the make-up of the animal feed to contain
  lower amounts of nutrients and heavy metals.
• Establish regulations on how much manure can be
  held in a storage area.
• Limit times which one can apply manure to the
  ground, and make it mandatory to work it into the
  ground right away.

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Solutions

• Finding sustainable ways for the agricultural
  area to reduce both its dependence on pollutants
  and the amount of pollutants it produces, and to
  properly recycle or dispose of pollutants before
  they contaminate soil, water, or air.

• Organic farming avoids the use of pesticides and
  fertilizers
• Efficient irrigation can slow salt buildup in
  soil and drainage water
• Avoiding large concentrations of animals can
  reduce nutrient pollution, and their waste can be
  used as fertilizer for crops.

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Channelized Ditches

• Channelized waters are usually absent of
  vegetative buffers and ground cover. Increased
  sediment load, especially resulting from tilled
  fields, and pollutant runoff decrease the quality
  of the water and negatively impact the
  surrounding habitat.

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Tillage Cropfields

• This practice increases runoff dramatically and
  the amount of sediment and pollutants from
  pesticides and herbicides in nearby water
  sources.
• A good alternative is conservation tillage where
  ground cover after harvest remains on the fields
  throughout the year.  

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Crop Rows Along Stream Bank

• Crops planted on the edge of streams can create
  bank erosion and the soil will be pushed into the
  stream thereby increasing sediment load and
  decreasing the area of the bank
• Area around the stream should be maintained with
  adequate trees and vegetation along the bank.

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BUFFER ZONES AND STRIPS

• Leaks from improperly stored pesticides can run
  off to ponds and other surface waters.
• A buffer zone protects banks and littoral zones
  from erosion and from the leaching of nutrients,
  microbes and pesticides to the water

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Sedimentation

• Definition
• Problems associated with it
• Solutions

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Definition of sedimentation

• The EPA defines sedimentation as occurring when
  wind or water runoff carries soil particles from
  an area, such as a farm field, and transports
  them to a water body, such as a stream or lake.

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Problems associated with sedimentation

• Lots of sedimentation can cause the water to
  become cloudy, which decreases the amount of
  sunlight available to aquatic plants.
• The dirt particles can obstruct food sources and
  clog the gills of fish.
• Other pollutants, such as heavy metals, are often
  attached to the soil particles and enter the
  water along with the sediment.

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Sediment Pollution

• Sediment is the most easily recognized of the
  nonpoint source pollutants from agricultural
  pollution

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Ways to prevent sedimentation

• Planting a crop of close growing grasses or small
  grain. This provides seasonal protection from
  erosion.
• Constructing sediment basins that hold sediment
  during runoff events.
• Strip cropping, or growing plants in strips
  across the slope to reduce water erosion.
• Conservation tillage, which also includes the
  no-till method.

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Pesticides

• Problems associated with the use of
• Solutions

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Problems with pesticide use

• Pesticides, which include herbicides, fungicides,
  and rodenticides, can contaminate water through
  direct application, runoff, transportation by the
  wind, and atmospheric deposition.
• They can be deadly to fish and other wildlife,
  they poison food sources, and they take away the
  protective cover of plants that make up the
  habitat of some animals.
• Pesticides are also known to cause illness in
  humans, including types of cancers.

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Pesticide Pollution

• Pesticide spraying eventually leads to runoff to
  groundwater/ surface water
• Contaminates water killing fish and wildlife, as
  well as reducing the biodiversity

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Ways to reduce pesticide use

• Application of Integrated Pest Management
  techniques based upon soil type, climate, the
  history of the specific pest, and the type of
  crop.
• Intercropping, agroforestry, and polyculture can
  reduce the need for pesticide use. Crops can
  also be rotated annually.
• Hot water can be sprayed on crops in place of
  pesticides. The cost of this is about equal to
  the cost of using pesticides.

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Streamside Forests

• Streamside forests counter the effects of some
  pesticides, and directly provide dissolved and
  particulate organic food needed to maintain high
  biological productivity and diversity

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Aquaculture and its problems

• Dense populations of fish and shellfish make
  eutrophication of the water they live in
  inevitable.
• Aquaculture fish ponds are pretty much aquatic
  feedlots and only last about five years before
  they are too contaminated to use.
• Chemicals used to keep unwanted marine life away
  from nets and cages can be toxic to other marine
  animals.

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More on aquaculture

• Wastes from the fish ponds can contaminate nearby
  water sources such as estuaries as well as ground
  and surface water.
• This waste can kill off some native aquatic
  species.
• A typical salmon farm with 75,000 fish produces
  as much waste as a city of 20,000 people.

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Reasons for washing fruit and vegetables before
ingestion

• Many diseases can be passed to humans via fecal
  contamination. Fruits and vegetables, before
  being washed, have been subject to several
  different pathogens, whether those pathogens were
  carried in the manure that was sprayed on the
  crops or from feces deposited by birds flying
  overhead.
• Diseases that can be passed this way
  include--salmonella, E. coli, giardiasis,
  ascariasis, shigella, and cryptosporidiosis.
• Pesticides are also a common contaminant. Over
  13 of vegetables and fruits consumed in the US
  may contain illegal levels of pesticides.

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Agriculture at the Bodensee

• Problems
• Contamination of soil groundwater by the high
  use of pesticides nitrates
• Dwarf fruit trees in area require high levels of
  agricultural chemicals. As a result, pollution of
  the lake with pesticides, fertilizers, and
  petroleum waste has grown.

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Solutions for Bodensee

• Encourage community to buy regional organic
  products
• Encourage restaurants and hotels around the lake
  to offer the whole year dishes made by organic
  food from the region.
• Introduce dishes made by organic food on tourist
  ships transporting about nine million people each
  year.

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Poor Water Quality at The Broads

• The Problem
• Masses of algae clouded water over the summer and
  the broads filled up with soft mud. The number of
  fish species and the age of fish declined, as did
  the variety of wildfowl.
• This condition was caused by the combination of
  phosphate-rich sewage and nitrogen-rich run-off
  from arable farming

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Solutions for The Broads

• In order to restore clear water and wildlife to
  broads which have deteriorated, it is essential
  to reduce the levels of nutrients in the water.
• Phosphate stripping and suction-dredging remove
  the nutrient-rich mud
• Water fleas thrive on eating algae

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Agricultural Pollution at Nestos Lakes

• The Problem
• The contamination of lake waters by the runoff of
  synthetic fertilizers and chemicals has grown
  with increasing use of agricultural chemicals in
  nearby areas.

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Solutions For Nestos Lakes

• EPO has adopted a program for restoration and
  conservation of wild habitats, sustainable
  agriculture, ecotourism, and community
  involvement.

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Water Quality Issues at Uluabat Lake

• Pollutants from several sources enter the Emet,
  Orhaneli and Mustafa Kemalpasa rivers. The main
  sources are
• waste from mining activities
• industrial effluents
• sewage effluent
• agricultural use of fertilizers, herbicides and
  pesticides

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Problems at Milicz Ponds

• Three Main Threats
• current levels of water pollution and overall
  water management
• changes in the agricultural sector and the
  disappearance of meadows
• poorly managed growth of the area in general and
  the tourism industry in particular.

• Changes in Agricultural Practices
• Meadow reduction has caused a decrease in number
  of birds that use meadows for breeding
• The drainage of wetlands and wet meadows results
  in a lower quality of feeding and breeding
  grounds.

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Lake Tutchewop

• Lake Tutchewop was once a favourite holiday
  resort in the 1930s and 1940s
• Now its a dead lake, holding over 1 million tons
  of salt that can not be extracted due to
  agricultural chemicals including herbicides and
  pesticides
• even the salt resistant brine shrimp cannot
  survive in it.