Effect of Cow Manure on Nutrient Levels

1
Effect of Cow Manure on Nutrient Levels

• Appleton East High School
• Kevin Dombrock and Jon Fischer

2
Locations Monitored

• Apple Creek
• French Road- near USA Youth Sports Complex
• Apple Creek Campground- near Wrightstown

3
Hypothesis

• If cows affect water quality, then the phosphorus
  and ammonia levels will be higher in the spring
  after the snow has melted off and the rains come.

4
Methodology

• Collected data from both sites during the spring,
  summer, and fall for three years
• Phosphorus- DR 850
• Ammonia- DR 850
• Organized data into graphs and charts
• Compared results to locate trends

5
Results
6
Results
7
Interpretation

• Phosphorus levels
• French Road levels consistently lower
• Not many farms upstream from French Road
• An abundance of farms between French Road and the
  Campground
• Ammonia Levels
• High point at Campgrounds might be from spring
  runoff or campers near site
• Most other points seem consistently low
• Spikes in graphs might be from spring rains or
  other storms

8
Conclusion

• It seems as though our hypothesis is correct
• It would benefit from more testing and samples
• More samples would allow averages to be created
  and allow for more consistency in the results