Animal Waste, Water Quality and Human Health

Transport of livestock-derived pathogens within catchments 197addition, a wide range of best management practices (BMPs) have been advocatedfor reducing pollution from agriculture (e.g. Cuttle 2007, Scottish EnvironmentProtection Agency (SEPA) 2009), many of which are embodied within nationalCodes of Good Agricultural Practice (CoGAPs) – for example, ScottishExecutive 2005, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD)[N. Ireland] 2008, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)2009. Some measures are designed to reduce pathogen numbers at the source(see: Chapter 5). However, the majority, as identified in Table 6.1, seek toattenuate pathogen transport within catchments by either reducing their transferto, or survival within, watercourses.Table 6.1 Best management practices (BMPs) for attenuating the transport oflivestock-derived pathogens/FIOs within catchments.BMPs to attenuate pathogen transfer to watercoursesContainment of farm steading/feedlot sourcesReducing amounts of slurry/contaminated waterRunoff interception/containmentOn-farm treatment of contaminated waterPonds* [Table 6.2/A]Vegetative treatment areas (VTAs) for feedlot runoff* [Table 6.2/B]Constructed farm wetlands (CFWs)* [Table 6.2/C]Control of livestock on farmlandStream bank fencing and bridgingMinimising livestock congregation areas and soil poachingExclusion from areas and at times of high pollution riskWoodchip corrals* [Table 6.2/D]Control of manure application to landLocation and timing of applicationIncorporation of manures in soilVegetated buffer strips (VBSs), inc riparian buffer strips (RBSs)* [Table 6.2/E]BMPs to attenuate pathogen concentrations within watercoursesGrassed waterways (or ‘swales’), inc interception of track runoffIn-stream ponds* [Table 6.2/F]*BMPs for which summary datasets are presented in Table 6.2. [letter indicatessection]While there is quite an extensive literature on the mitigation of nutrients,pesticides, BOD and suspended sediments, less is known about the effectivenessof agricultural BMPs in addressing the microbial parameters, and a lot of thesemicrobial data are relatively inaccessible to those agencies responsible for the