Groundwater in the Great Lakes Basin

fewer than 300 NU will continue to be covered under
municipal nutrient management bylaws. This results
in difficulty for the public to know whether a livestock
operation must comply with the NMA or with municipal
bylaws (ECO, 2006).
Research is needed to help develop more effective
methods of managing impacts that CAFOs have on
groundwater. Significant amounts of animal wastes
from CAFOs are entering Lake Michigan; and while
monitoring stations are needed to help improve environmental
safety, little is being done to install them.
This is because research would require putting CAFO
operators at risk from lawsuits and provisions of the
Clean Water Act (Egan, 2007). A water sample, taken
in Manitowoc County by a local community group,
containing 5,000 E. coli colonies per 100 ml (well above
the state standard of 235) was tested to determine its
source. Initial results indicated that nearly 100% of the
fecal pollution in the sample was from cattle. The local
group was prevented from locating the source of pollution
since they did not have legal access to the farm
land and official agencies were not taking action (Egan,
2007). As the price for synthetic oil-based fertilizers
continues to rise, resulting in an increase in the use of
manure for fertilizers, one can expect to find increased
groundwater contamination by manure.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations are from the U.S. EPA
(2004):
• Reduce the volumes of manure created by changing
waste management, handling practices and feed
utilization efficiency.
• Treat manure to kill pathogens, attenuate
hormones and other organic contaminants and
stabilize metals.
• Increase use of anaerobic treatment and
composting to control odors, nutrients, pathogens
and generate renewable energy.
• Reduce the use of antibiotics to stem the development
of antibiotic resistant pathogens.
• Increase soil conservation methods to reduce
runoff and erosion from fields to which manure
has been applied. Reduced tillage, terraces, grassed
waterways and contour planting offer conservation
benefits.
• Install barriers such as riparian zones and wetlands
to prevent manure-laden runoff from fields from
reaching streams.
• Change barn ventilation and manure management
and handling practices to minimize the airborne
release of stressors.
• Where economic factors work against making
changes to CAFO management practices, eliminate
them or provide incentives for making such
changes.
ECO (2006) recommended that Ontario MOE and
OMAFRA prescribe the NMA under the Environmental
Bill of Rights for applications for investigation and to
designate NMSs and NMPs for livestock operations as
instruments.
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