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YouTubeLooks like the ODA won't make a final decision this year on the proposed 6 million chicken operation in Union County. Will the new ag director approve this one, despite opposition from county leadership?
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion
Hi-Q egg facility appeal
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TalkingHeadsFan
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Posted 1 year ago # -
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
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I was measuring conductivity in the Scioto this year, and I expected to get lower numbers upstream from Columbus, where Rt. 42 crosses at Bellpoint. But the main stem of the river, and Mill Creek, both gave me crazy high numbers, and I couldn't figure it out.
Water contains various natural and human-introduced inorganic materials that have the ability to pass an electric current. Conductivity measures the ability of the particles in the water to transfer electricity. It is used as an indicator of the presence of chlorides, nitrates, sulfates and phosphate anions (negatively charged ions) and sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron and aluminum cations (positively charged ions). If a conductivity level is high, it indicates a potential problem from these materials.
from here: http://www.lcra.org/water/quality/crwn/indicators.html
Then, I started wondering about "concentrated animal feeding operations" (CAFOs) in the watershed. These must operate under permits from OEPA's Division of Surface Water. Google "OEPA CAFO" and this page comes up:
http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/cafo/index.aspx
Scroll down and there's a map of the locations. I did a forehead slap when I saw this:
http://www.epa.state.oh.us/portals/35/cafo/FacilityLocations_8x14_061308a.pdf
The farms themselves must comply with permitting rules regarding runoff, and on-site manure ponds, etc. However they also allow certain methods for applying the manure to fields. This practice led to the problems at Grand Lake St. Marys this year. When manure is applied to frozen ground, as we have now, that shit just washes right off into the streams.
Here are the numbers I got. They drop sharply after a big rain event and rise during dry weather. Mill Creek and Klondike trended higher than the other sites. ("Klondike" is the main stem of the Scioto river along Klondike Rd. "Northmoor" is the Olentangy.)
http://sciotoriverfriends.org/monitoring/scioto_conductivity_current.xls
I did not expect to find more stuff dissolved in the water, up in Delaware County, than after the river had gone past downtown, at Greenlawn.
To help pin down CAFOS as pollution sources, I could sample smaller tributaries in watersheds like Mill Creek and Bokes Creek, to compare against the main stem of the river. (I could also measure pH at the same time.) But that's a lot of driving around from Columbus.
Posted 1 year ago # -
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
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I don't use a home filter but I've considered it on the days when I can clearly smell chlorine in my tap water.
Here's a flyer from the Division of Water describing various pollutants and how many are allowed in the drinking water. Notice how the Dublin Rd. plant output generally has higher contaminant levels than the Hap Cremean plant on Big Walnut, while the wellfield water comes up as "no detect" on many of them.
Page 2 has a map showing which parts of the city are supplied by which sources. I'm at Kenny/McCoy, on the verge of the Scioto valley, but my water comes from Big Walnut.
Posted 1 year ago # -
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
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Aside from drinking-water concerns, there are problems created when there are too many nutrients in the water:
Eutrophication - The process by which a body of water acquires a high concentration of nutrients, especially phosphates and nitrates. These typically promote excessive growth of algae. As the algae die and decompose, high levels of organic matter and the decomposing organisms deplete the water of available oxygen, causing the death of other organisms, such as fish. Eutrophication is a natural, slow-aging process for a water body, but human activity greatly speeds up the process.
from here:
http://toxics.usgs.gov/definitions/eutrophication.html
Hypoxia – “Hypoxia occurs…when oxygen concentrations fall below the level necessary to sustain most animal life. Hypoxia results when oxygen consumption, primarily through decomposing organic material, exceeds oxygen production through photosynthesis and replenishment from the atmosphere.†- Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force, 2004
from here:
Posted 1 year ago # -
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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Hi-Q won't pursue plans for egg farm in Union County
Saturday, June 4, 2011
By LIN RICE
ThisWeek Community NewspapersUnion County's years-long battle with Hi-Q Egg Products over whether or not the company can build an egg farm in the county appears to be at an end.
Ohio Department of Agriculture director James Zehringer has formally denied permits to Hi-Q Egg Products, LLC to install and operate its proposed egg laying facility in West Mansfield, the ODA announced June 2.
Posted 11 months ago #
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