Author
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Thurston Enriquez, Jeanette |
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Submitted to: Water Conditioning and Purification
Publication Type: Popular Publication Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/2002 Publication Date: 7/1/2002 Citation: Thurston Enriquez, J.A. 2002. A solution at the source? defining and solving manure-borne pathogen transmission from animal feeding operations. Water Conditioning and Purification. Interpretive Summary: The 1998 National Water Quality Inventory surveyed 32 percent of the nation's waters and reported that 40 percent were considered impaired. Of the impaired waters, 60 percent of rivers and streams and 30 percent of lakes were identified as being negatively impacted by agricultural sources. Animal feeding operations (AFOs) have emerged as a major potential source of water pollution with a primary focus on excessive nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. Human pathogens present in manure, however, are also exposed to the surrounding environment and may negatively impact groundwater or surface waters that serve as drinking, recreational, shellfish harvesting and irrigation water sources. Unfortunately, there are many gaps in our knowledge regarding survival and fate of manure-borne pathogens originating from AFOs. This information gap, in part, is driving a multi-agency effort by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to develop strategies for the reduction of pathogens in manure and manure management systems. This article provides a background on AFOs, including livestock waste and management strategies, manure-borne pathogens and transmission to water, methods for determining pathogen sources, and a brief overview of the USDA-USEPA Unified National Strategy for AFOs. Technical Abstract: The 1998 National Water Quality Inventory surveyed 32 percent of the nation's waters and reported that 40 percent were considered impaired. Of the impaired waters, 60 percent of rivers and streams and 30 percent of lakes were identified as being negatively impacted by agricultural sources. Animal feeding operations (AFOs) have emerged as a major potential source of water pollution with a primary focus on excessive nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. Human pathogens present in manure, however, are also exposed to the surrounding environment and may negatively impact groundwater or surface waters that serve as drinking, recreational, shellfish harvesting and irrigation water sources. Unfortunately, there are many gaps in our knowledge regarding survival and fate of manure-borne pathogens originating from AFOs. This information gap, in part, is driving a multi-agency effort by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to develop strategies for the reduction of pathogens in manure and manure management systems. This article provides a background on AFOs, including livestock waste and management strategies, manure-borne pathogens and transmission to water, methods for determining pathogen sources, and a brief overview of the USDA-USEPA Unified National Strategy for AFOs. |
