Part I - Water Pollution from Waste Mismanagement

The gargantuan amount of waste from cattle farms can eventually infiltrate the earths water system, this unpopular percolation can be due to mechanical or human error in agricultural situations. 

This is because farms have to store this large amounts of manure that is produced by livestock - theoretically this is manure can be dealt with sustainably by redistributing it into the environment by using the manure as fertiliser. 

However, the rate of production usually exceeds that of redistribution, this leads to the excess manure being stored in containers or at larger practices ‘waste lagoons’

Aerial shot of waste 'lagoon' from Mishka Henner

If the machinery the waste is stored in is neglected the integrity of the equipment may be compromised, this can lead to unwanted  waste leaking into the environment. Additionally, if the technology of the waste storage is outdated then this can see a further loss of waste into the environment.

I have found that in addition to mechanical complications, specific human irreverence and laziness can result in waste entering the water system.

For example lets say a valve connected to this canister of dung is inadvertently left open, this could allow manure to flow into a collection pit, and then overflow and drain into the environment - this possibility is highlighted in Ackerman and Taylors paper.

These two factors may seem a little unscientific in the grand scheme of things but they do have a considerable contribution to the leaching of this waste into undesirable locations. 

The main techniques that have been suggested are from the Nader et. al. (1998) investigation that suggested managing the water quality by redesigning of the river uses along the source - i.e. having water developments upstream from the agriculture to avoid pollution. 

They also suggested altering the spatial distribution of cattle and implementing pasture rotation - to keep the animals away from the source. These last two points will be discussed further in the next instalment!