S9: Best Management Practices Implemented in Agricultural Watersheds to Attenuate Surface Water Contamination with Zoonotic Pathogens from Livestock Manure

Because of nation-wide outbreaks of gastroenteritis traced to livestock operations and zoonotic microorganisms manure management practices to prevent the movement of manure-borne pathogens into surface waters with public access became a focus of research within the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Five management practices that ARS scientists have investigated to attenuate the movement of manure-borne pathogens will be reviewed in this presentation. 1. The application of polyacrylamide (PAM) to irrigated cropland was investigated to increase water infiltration, and reduce the movement of fecal bacteria from recent manure applications. 2. Riparian vegetative buffer strips were developed to capture manure-borne pathogens from runoff associated with irrigation and rain events. 3. Application of flue-gas-desulfurization (FGD) gypsum, a byproduct of coal burning power plants, to agricultural fields was investigated to enhance water infiltration and attenuate the movement of manure-borne pathogens in runoff from rain events. 4. The strategic placement of ponds within agricultural landscapes was investigated as a potential sink for attenuating the down-stream movement of zoonotic pathogens from livestock. 5. The effectiveness of an effluent lagoon and its adjacent spray fields at a large-scale swine operation was investigated as a method to reduce the environmental load of Cryptosporidium spp. These five research projects were part of two peer-reviewed programs within ARS: Manure and Byproduct Utilization, and Agricultural and Industrial Byproducts.