Effects of CAFO location on well water contamination (2010)
Undergraduates: Sarah Hatcher, none none Naeema Muhammad, NC Environmental Justice Network
Faculty Advisor: Steve Wing
Department: Environmental Science
The prevalence of industrial animal production in southeastern North Carolina has raised several environmental and public health concerns among residents. Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and their associated waste lagoons and spray fields leave neighbouring communities prone to air and water contamination. In response to an expressed concern in affected communities, private wells were tested for nitrate, total coliform, and fecal coliform contamination through collaboration with local community members and organizations. Thirty-three samples were collected in Duplin, Sampson, and Bladen counties and analyzed in a commercial lab in Cary, NC. Residents completed a short survey to further assess the state quality of private well and septic systems. The geographic coordinates of each well were collected in order to determine the distance from participating households to nearby swine CAFOs. Eight wells (24%) were not in compliance with federal drinking water standards. Seven wells (21%) exceeded federal standards (zero MCL) for total coliform contamination. Seven wells (21%) were positive for nitrate, one of which exceeded federal standards for nitrate (10 mg/L). Participating households had between 1 and 9 CAFOs within a 1.25 mile radius. The results of this study indicate a need for education and training on private well and septic maintenance in rural areas and more comprehensive sampling efforts, surface water sampling, and microbial source tracking studies.