Nonpoint Source Pollution Management

            Are you looking for a way to reduce the phosphorus leaving your property because you are “under the gun” by the State and Federal regulatory officials to do something?  You don’t really have the acres, time or money to build a large wetland to retain all of your runoff.  The answer is here.  It is called PhosPhilter^TM.

            Nonpoint source pollution is created either by the flushing of pollutants from landscapes by rainfall and the resulting stormwater runoff, or by the leaching of pollutants through the soil into ground water.  During the first 15 years after the adoption by Congress of the Federal Clean Water Act, the national program focused primarily on traditional “point sources” such as discharges through pipes from sewage treatment plants and industrial facilities.  Many surface and ground waters remain impaired because of nonpoint source pollution.

            Generally, surface water quality standards apply to water features that run through your property (like streams and canals) and so are not entirely owned by you.  Likewise, water quality standards apply to lakes that are bounded by more than one owner.  Ditches, which originate within your property, may not have to meet water quality standards within the ditch, but they will have to meet water quality standards at the point at which they discharge into the “waters of the state”.  Since this is a complicated issue, it is best to consult an expert for a determination where water quality standards must be met.

        The National Water Quality Inventory: 1996 Report to Congress Executive Summary cites nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) as one of the leading causes of water quality impairment in our Nation's rivers, lakes and estuaries. Forty percent of the rivers are impaired due to nutrient enrichment; fifty-one percent of the surveyed lakes, and fifty-seven percent of the surveyed estuaries were similarly adversely affected.

Livestock operations are generally low-intensity agriculture with relatively low levels of pollutants discharged offsite.  However, certain siting and management practices may contribute to a violation of water quality standards.  Under these situations, ranches may contribute elevated levels of phosphorus, nitrogen, sediment, bacteria and oxygen demanding organic material.  For example phosphorus and nitrogen may be contributed to a receiving water body from over-fertilized pastures or significant amounts of manure may be deposited directly in a waterway, which will cause violations.

The potential for discharges from livestock operations to cause water quality violations varies greatly and sometimes best management practices (BMP) alone are not adequate to meet water quality standards.  In those cases where BMP alone are not adequate, the use of PhosPhilter^TM will reduce the phosphorus loading so that water quality standards are met.