Water pollution farming

MITRE Corporation, A Technology Assessment Methodology, Project Summary and 6 Volumes/Some Basic Propositions, Automotive Emissions, Computers-Communications Networks, Enzymes (Industrial), Mariculture (Sea Farming), Water Pollution Domestic Wastes), Washington, D.C., 1971. 

Level 1 For each River Basin, identification of the existing problems and their possible causes (the same problem can be originated for more than one cause). For example, the problem No demand satisfaction can be caused by water transfers, surface water and groundwater extraction, agricultural and farm activities (water pollution), a lack of urban and industrial wastewater treatment, Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), etc. 

Conventional farming systems are often associated with nutrient leaching from arable lands and ground water pollution (Hansen et al. 2000). Application of farm... 

Pollution problems could result from the expanded use of fertilizers and bioengineered organisms on energy farms. The introduction of hazardous chemicals from MSW into the agricultural system could result in increased air and water pollution. 

However, two critical areas for potential water pollution by organic farming have been identified and extensively investigated ... 

Organic farming poses no risk of ground and surface water pollution by synthetic pesticides. The active ingredients of permitted pesticides have not been properly monitored nor their effects sufficiently investigated. 

The principle that guides efforts to reduce sedimentation and siltation as causes of water pollution is to reduce the flow of water over cultivated land or land that has otherwise been disturbed, such as during construction. A number of farming techniques, such as contour and strip farming and terracing, are well known to reduce soil erosion. To the extent that more farmers adopt such techniques, problems of sedimentation and siltation will be reduced. 

Another common source of groundwater pollution is sewage, which includes drainage from septic tanks and inadequate or broken sewer lines. Animal sewage, especially from factory-style animal farms, is also a source of groundwater (and river water) pollution. Sewage water contains bacteria, which if untreated can cause waterborne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, and infectious hepatitis. If the contaminated groundwater travels relatively quickly... 

Major sources of water pollutants include mining, manufacturing, farming, power production, and runoff from urban and suburban sprawl. Water pollution from each of these sources are discussed later. 

Farming is responsible for the release of four categories of water pollutants into the water environment. These are... 

Though the quantities of each that are released vary with farming practices and animals or crops raised, they are the most important nonpoint source of water pollution. 

Animal operations such as individual farms or huge industrial animal production facilities (e.g., beef and dairy cattle) located near shores can generate enormous surface runoff, particularly under adverse weather conditions, and can cause water pollution (Fayer et al., 1998, 1999 Freire-Santos et al., 2000 Gomez-Bautista et al., 2000). 

Amendments in 1987 authorized measures to address non-point source pollution (storm water runoff from farm lands, forests, construction sites and urban areas), now estimated by the states to represent the largest remaining water pollution problem in the USA (USEPA, 2000). Because of this, although toxics remain a significant component in the mix of non-point runoff, other major pollutants such as nutrients have risen to the fore of public concern for action. Presently the major thrust in implementation of the CWA is to manage on a watershed basis and integrate all parts of the CWA to operate in an integrated fashion, instead of in isolation. 

Nonpoint source runoff is the major source of water pollution in the United States. Topsoil runoff from farms and pastures represents the major source of this pollution. 

The small amounts of paint generated by the average household cannot be recycled economically, but most municipalities sponsor paint exchange programs and collect oil-based paints. Spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants can be recycled to reclaim unused uranium, and some spent uranium is used to produce armor-piercing bullets. Yard waste from households is often recycled and made into mulch for farming and gardening. Discarded Christmas trees are used to form mulch or are immersed in lakes as a habitat for fish. SEE ALSO Environmental Pollution Water Water Pollution Water Quality. 

In general it is desirable to return the wastes from plant and animal production back into the soil. They are well degradable, and they enrich the soil in nutrients in a readily utilizable organic form. From the ecological standpoint they are helpful in the natural circulation of substances in the environment. On the other hand, improperly maintained dung or silage units are traditional sources of environmental pollution, particularly of water pollution. In smaller farms, these pollution sources are of only limited, local importance, however, they can present difficulties due to their scattered distribution and problems in control. The solution of this problem... 

Through the use of chemical technology, large increases have been reported in recent decades in the production of agronomic crops in the United States (5). New herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and fertilizers have been developed and applied on a broad scale on farms and orchards. Recently, however, widespread fears have developed concerning possible air and water pollution and the contamination of fruits and vegetables with toxins. 

Heavy metal ions are perhaps the most common of all water pollutants. The heavy metals include such frequendy encountered elements as lead and mercury, as well as many less common ones like cadmium, chromium, nickel, and copper. These metals can, at times, be acutely toxic, causing immediate symptoms, but often they are chronically toxic in very small quantities. Chronic toxicity is characterized by nagging symptoms that lessen normal body functions. Inadequate disposal of wastes from mining or industrial activities causes these metals to find their way into water supplies. In addition, some farming activities and the disposal of household wastes can contribute to the presence of heavy metals in our water supplies. 

Are the water recovery system and catchment area located in an area where there is a particularly high risk of ground water pollution, e.g. owing to farming, seepage of sewage, nearby refuse tips or centres of population etc. ... 

C. Berryman, Proo. Sympos. on Farm Wastesy Inst. Water Pollut. Control,... 

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