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Re: [RC] weed free - Truman Prevatt

Under the clean water act large animal operations are regulated and one of the reasons is runoff from stored manure has a significant impact on water quality. Depending on the soil and other factors as little as six horses if stalled and the manure piled for a period of time can have an impact on nearby water.

In our sandy soil it's not a big deal - the water goes into the ground and doesn't run off - but in high clay content soils with a nearby stream it can be a big deal. It is something we should all be aware of.

Truman

David LeBlanc wrote:
Ed said:

horse manure causes water pollution. If they loose on water pollution they will try .....

Actually, it does, and it is very quantifiable. Horse manure will impose a certain level of biological oxygen demand (BOD). If you exceed what a particular water body can carry, you'll cause it to go anoxic and kill it. The example they used when we were taught this was that a milk tanker wrecked on a bridge and dumped its load into a river. If I remember correctly, the numbers were reasonable, and the effects of the tanker spill would be measurable for about 100 miles downstream. The local effects were pretty bad - serious levels of fish kill. We can model both BOD and what the impact will be on a water body fairly accurately.

It's relatively easy to measure this, then figure backwards just how many
horses pooping in the stream it would take to screw things up. It could well
be that you'd have to park a small herd in the stream to have a serious
impact. So knowing what that number is would be really useful, esp. since we
don't want to screw things up and damage streams. It's also relatively easy
to remedy - build bridges.


--

“Ethical axioms are found and tested not very differently from the axioms of science. Truth is what stands the test of experience.” Albert Einstein


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Replies
RE: [RC] weed free, David LeBlanc