Researchers with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science who took water samples downstream from chicken farms after rainy days said the data they collected “does not suggest storm water runoff impacts from poultry operations” in a new report of their findings.
The researchers, Richard A. Snyder and Paige G. Ross, inspected 58 water samples collected in Accomack County, Va., including samples from 17 locations downstream or inclusive of poultry operations. They compared the levels of Enterococcus bacteria, ammonia, nitrogen and phosphorus in the chicken farm-adjacent samples with the levels found in water far from farms.
For ammonia, only two samples showed high levels, and “no association with poultry operations was evident,” the report said. Similarly, “no association of TN [total nitrogen] values and poultry operations was observed,” and the two samples that exceeded a total phosphorus threshold had no connections to active poultry farms.
A full copy of the report is available by clicking here.
