Venture Dairy Cooperative and Wisconsin Dairy Alliance: Well testing study demonstrates majority of contamination in SW WI from human waste

Might 23, 2022 – A years-long examine nicely water in Southwestern Wisconsin was lastly completed this week and researchers have discovered nearly all of contamination in these wells comes from human waste, not from cows.

The Southwest Wisconsin Groundwater and Geology (“SWIGG”) examine examined 816 wells in Southwestern Wisconsin throughout 2018 and 2019. Of these 816 wells, researchers discovered 32% had contamination. This proportion is greater than the statewide common.

Importantly, this examine sought to determine the causes of contamination, not simply the presence of it. In response to researchers “[t]ests that distinguish between human wastewater, bovine (cattle) manure, and porcine (pig) manure had been used to determine fecal sources of contamination. For these checks, 138 wells had been randomly chosen from these optimistic for whole coliforms or with excessive nitrate. Human wastewater was detected in 64 wells, cattle manure was detected in 33 wells, and pig manure was detected in 13 wells, indicating that each human wastewater and livestock manure contribute to personal nicely contamination.” (emphasis added).

“Sadly, again and again, the ‘answer’ for cleansing up contamination like this appears to be further laws on CAFOs. The examine reveals that persevering with to control probably the most closely regulated farmers means ignoring nearly all of the issue. Persevering with to tighten down on massive farmers doesn’t enhance water high quality in a significant method and solely ensures that farmers shut down or transfer out of state,” highlighted Cindy Leitner, President of Wisconsin Dairy Alliance.

“This examine reveals what massive dairy farmers have been saying all alongside: you may’t place all of the blame at our ft. In Southwest Wisconsin, in case your nicely checks optimistic for fecal contamination, you’re almost twice as prone to have human waste from a failing septic system than manure from a cow. And this doesn’t distinguish between CAFO and non-CAFO contribution to contamination, nor does it differentiate new versus legacy contamination,” mentioned Kim Bremmer, Govt Director of Enterprise Dairy Cooperative.

“CAFOs are doing an excellent job preserving the water clear, however can’t management what smaller farms do, they will’t repair failing septic programs, and so they can’t management the quantity of human waste dumped into the water by native governments.”