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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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