Unbiased First Published 07/15/2015
Livestock lost. A big contest. Three competitors. Final scores: Wildlife 50+%, Humans 16%, Livestock 10%.
Those scores were racked up in a scientific contest conducted by the United States Geological Survey and other reputable testing agencies. The contest involved tests of water in the Potomac River to determine sources of bacteria normally found in feces from various organisms. Levels of water borne poop would indicate direction to take in reducing fecal waste pollution entering the river.
Geese, Deer, Raccoons are principal culprits in producing more than half the fecal coliform bacteria entering our Potomac River. Using bacteria source as an indicator of quantities of feces introduced into Potomac River water, wildlife wins the contest going away, paws down.
University researchers and other reputable scientists have calculated reductions of various wild animals necessary to reasonably reduce feces output levels. 83%, the magic number. 83% reduction in overall wildlife numbers necessary to bring their poop production down.
Even most rabid Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay huggers admit reductions in wildlife numbers of that scale are ridiculous. In a fight between river/bay huggers and wildlife huggers, the bunny/ fawn huggers would win going away.
- So we ignore the single largest source of water pollution. Wildlife won. Humans built habitat and protections which encourage rising wildlife numbers.
Humans, 16%. Public treatment systems and private septic systems. Compared to quantities of wild- life poop in our water, we are way down the scale, yet still running a hard and significant second. Large chunks of public money (taxes) have been thrown at public treatment facilities. Upgrades and maintenance plus new construction may have reduced that 16% since it was reported. The new South Branch plant in Old Fields alone was supposed to reduce West Virginia’s share to manageable levels.
It’s the septic systems that are bug-a-boo. How to enforce and finance replacement/refurbishment of hundreds of thousands of home septic systems has stopped politicians cold. Quantities of money and time to complete those up- grades don’t reasonably exist. Riv- er huggers want action now, can’t wait for congress, and the bureaucracy to mandate changes. Can’t wait to grow massive construction industry to plan and execute thousands of little projects.
- So we largely ignore massive reduction in human poop as a reasonably attainable reduction goal. Humans came in second.
Livestock, 10%. That’s where the action is. That’s where law suits are landing on farmers’ backs.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation decided cows and the farmers who own them are big slow moving tar- gets they can hit with a suit that will stick. There’s a new law suit against Commonwealth of Virginia for failure to prevent farmers from allowing livestock, principally cattle, from entering streams that are insufficiently fenced. A beautiful front page picture of maybe a half dozen cows in a creek illustrated the article I saw and saved from the Harrisonburg newspaper.
Lesson from all this? Ignore big problems causing the trouble. Declare them unfixable. Dump excess time and money on headline producing harassment of farmers who actually produce material necessities for a living.
I haven’t attributed every bit of fact I’ve quoted in this column. I do have at least fifty digital files gleaned from Washington Post newspaper plus numerous other newspapers, magazines and newsletters covering past eight years from which material used here was drawn.
50+%, 16%, and 10% are old numbers, dating to 2006. Perhaps new litigation will be basis for research producing new numbers. I hope so. I bet they don’t change.
