TBE EFFECT OF POULTRY WASTE ON GROUND AND SURFACE WATER 

William H. Boyd Environmental Engineer, PE 

USDA Soil Conservation Service 

555 Vandiver Drive 

Columbia, Missouri 65202 

Questign: Is poultry waste a resource or a pollutant? 

Answer: It has the potential to be either. Poultry waste 

is neither a re~ource or a pollutant in and of itself. It 

has the potential of being a valuable resource which can be 

utilized as a fertilizer, soil amendment, bedding, anerqy 

source or as a feed. However, without proper management, poultry waste can adversely impact the use of water for such 

activities as drinking, processing, washing, fishing, 

swimming, and boating. 

This paper will explain why poultry waste management is a 

water quality concern by (1) identifying the characteristics 

of poultry waste, and (2) describing possible impacts on 

surface and ground waters. 

Poultry waste Characteristics 

Many of characteristics of poultry waste which give it 

potential value as a resource are the same characteristics 

that make it a potential pollutant. According to the new 

scs, Agricultural Waste Management Field Manual (not yet publi$hed) poultry waste has the following characteristics. 

Table 1. Characteristics of "As Excreted" Poultry Manure 1 

Layer Pullet Broiler Turkey Duck 

Component Units Tom Hen 

Weight lb/d/1000# 60.5 45.6 so. 40.8 46.4 

Volume cf/d/1000# 0.93 0.73 1.26 0.64 0.64 

Moisture ' 75. 75. 75. 75. 75. 

TS t w.b. 25. 25. 25. 25. 25. 

ld/d/1000# 15.1 .11 .. 4 20. 10.2 11.6 12.0 

vs lb/d/1000# 10.8 9.7 15. 9.0 10.3 7.0 

FS lb/d/1000# 4.3 1 .. 7 5. 1.2 1.3 5 .. 0 

COD lb/d/1000# 13.7 12.2 19 .. 11.5 13.1 9.5 

BODS lb/d/1000# 3.7 3.3 5.1 3 .• 1 3.5 2.5 

N lb/d/1000# 0 .. 83 0 .. 62 1.1 0 .. 68 0.79 0.7 

p lb/d/1000# 0.31 0.24 0.34 0.26 0.30 0.3 

~ lblgLlQOQ! QzJ~ Qs26 Q::~!! Qz~§ 0.30 Qd~ 

Increase solids and nutrients by 4 percent for each 1 

percent.feed waste more than 5 percent. 

223 
Table 2. Characteristics of Poultry Manure and/or Litter 

from the Floor of Poultry Housing Facilities' 

Layer high-rise1 

compom~D't Units units Broiler 

Weight 

Volume 

Moisture 

TS 

lb/d/1000# 24 .. cf/d/1000# 

% 

% w.b. 

ld/d/1000# 

vs 1b/d/1000# 

FS lb/d/1000# 

COD lb/d/1000# 

BOD5 lb/d/1000# 

N lb/d/1000# 

NEr-N lb/d/1000# 

so. 

50 .. 12. 

0.425 

p lb/d/1000# 0.275 ~ lb/d/1000# 0.30 

35. 

24. 

76. 

26 .. 5 

21.4 

5.1 

1.37 

0.68 

0.80 

added 

Broiler2 

Turkey breeger 

24.3 

34 34. 

66 66. 

16.1 

0.88 1.06 

0.01 

0.40 1.32 

0.45 1.19 

to waste. 

11.2 

88.8 

S8.6 

30.2 

. 2. 31 

Table 3. Characteristics of Poultry Laqoon supernatant and 

Sludqe 

Compgnent Units 

Weiqht 

Volume 

Moisture 

TS 

vs 

FS 

COD 

BODS 

N 

NEr-N 

p 

K 

lb/d/1000# 

cf/d/1000# 

% 

% w.b. 

ld/d/1000# 

lb/d/1000# 

lb/d/1000# 

lb/d/1000# 

lb/d/1000# 

lb/d/1000# 

lb/d/1000# 

lb/d/1000# 

lb/d/1000# 

Layer 

Super- Sludqe naj:ant 

99.5 86.9 

0.50 13.1 

0.22 4.85 

0.28 8.25 

0.75 0.39 

0.055 0.092 

0.01 0.55 

0.10 0.072 

PUllet 

Super- Sludge 

natant 

99.7 92.6 

0.30 7.4 

0.13 3.77 

0.17 3.63 

0.036 0.29 

0.027 0.059 

0.009 0.33 

0.084 0.074 

Possible %mpacts of Poultry Waste OD Water Quality 

The effects of poultry waste on a water body will depend in 

part on the physical, bioloqical, and chemical 

characteristics of that water body. The effects are 

considered a water quality problem in they impair the use of 

the water. Poultry waste can enter a water body by leaching 

224 
through the soil, by runoff from areas where the waste has " 

been applied to the land and by direct discharge. 

Potential water pollut~nts in poultry waste may be 

classified as (a) nutrients, (b) oxygen-demanding materials, 

(c) suspended materials, (d) pathogens, (e) toxic substances 

and (f) salts. 

Hutrients: 

Nitrogen and phosphorus can result in eutrophication, which 

is the excessive growth of algae and rooted aquatic plants. This can result in algae mats, decaying algae clumps, undesirable odors, objectionable taste, and discoloration 

which can limit the recreational and aesthetic uses of water 

bodies. Under eutrophic conditions photosynthesis raises 

dissolved oxygen levels during the day, but respiration lowers them at night and during cloudy weather. These low 

dissolved oxygen conditions can result in the death of 

desirable fish species. Phytoplankton and weeds can settle 

to the colder bottom water of deep water bodies and create a 

sediment oxygen demand in the hypolimnion. This can alter 

the fish habitat to favor species which require less oxygen 

or favor warmer surface temperatures. Water treatment plant filters can be clogged by large diatoms and filamentous 

algae. Larger plant forms can interfere with navigation, aeration, and channel carrying capacity of channels and 

rivers. Toxic algae in costal areas can result in shellfish poisoning. 

Qxygen Demanding Substances: 

Oxygen demanding substances include the carbonaceous 

biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD) (which is the result of the 

decomposition of organic matter by aerobic bacteria) and the 

nitrogenous biochemical oxygen demand (NBOD) (which is the 

result of the mineralization of ammonia). Except in the 

presence of toxic substances, the CBOD effect can be seen 

almost immediately after the introduction of organic matter 

into a water body. The NBOD effect is dependent on the 

presence of nitrifying bacteria, therefore the NBOO effect 

will often lag as the nitrifying bacteria populations grow. 

In a river or other plug-flow situation the greatest effect 

of NBOD may occur several miles down stream from where the 

organic matter enters the system. 

The NBOD is the effect of two biological reactions. In the 

first reaction Nitrosomonas bacteria oxidizes ammonia to 

nitrite. In the second reaction Nitrobacter bacteria 

oxidizes nitrite to nitrate. The actual NBOD reactions are 

given below: 

Reaction 1: 

Reaction 2: 

(1. 5) 02 

(0.5)02 

225 

-> 

-> 

(2) H+ +. H20 + N02-

N03-
According to the above reactions every gram of ammonia 

nitrogen oxidized to nitrate requires 4.57 grams of 

dissolved oxygen. Because some ammonium is used in cell 

production, the actual oxygen demand approached 4.2 qrams of 

oxygen for every gram of ammonia oxidized. 

The impact of low dissolved oxygen concentrations include 

fish mortality, unpleasant taste and odors, and other 

aesthetic nuisances. The water bodies can become anaerobic 

and produce methane, amines, and sulfide. 

§uspended Matter: 

Suspended matter from poultry waste can lead to low levels 

of oxygen production in surface water by reducing the 

penetration of sunlight and consequently slowing the 

production of free oxygen by photosynthesis. Suspended 

matter can cloq fish qills and interfere with the feeding habits of sight feeders. It can settle over feeding supplies and over sensitive spawning areas, covering the 

eggs, and interrupting the reproductive process. As high levels of suspended matter settle it can interfere with 

channel flow and reduce reservoir storage. suspended matter 

can give the water a turbid appearance and reduce 

visibility. Low density organic matter floating to the 

surface can be aesthetically unpleasing. It may be costly 

to remove suspended matter from domestic and 

industrial water supplies. 

Patbogens: 

•Pathogens" as used in this paper includes all disease 

causing o~ganisms including but not limited to bacteria, 

viruses, fungi, and parasites. Animal waste are potential 

sources of approximately 150 diseases. Pathogens from water 

can infect humans through drinking water, contact with the 

skin, and through consumption of aquatic animals carrying 

the pathogens. The presence of pathogens is not just a 

concern for humans, it can also cause problems in.other 

organisms including other poultry. Most pathoqens will die 

off in a relatively short time, but under the right 

conditions they may live and persist longer in ground water 

than in surface water. Often the presence of non-pathogenic 

orqanisms (most notably B. coli) is used as an indicator of 

the presence of pathogenic organisms. 

~oxic SyQstancga: 

Toxic substances from poultry waste can be transported both 

to surface and ground waters. Nitrogen is usually classified 

as a nutrient rathe~ than as a toxin, but some forms of 

·nitrogen can produce toxic like reactions. Excessive 

nitrates in drinking water can result in methemoglobinemia 

in inf~nts (the blue baby syndrome) which could result in 

226 
cell 

grams c 

nclude 

er 

oi!erobic 

levels 

he 

e 

nded 

eeding 

g 

q the 

~ high with 

:ed mattE 

· the 

- costly 

case 

_-eria, 

•tential 

.. rom wat~ 

·."ith the 

c:rrying 

1~t a 

:.ther 

will dit .. 

md wate: ~athogen. 

icator o: 

rted bot: 

classifi 

.ms of 

ive 

obinemia 

~ult in 

's, .... 

death. For this reason the Environmental Protection Agency has set a limit of lO mq;l nitrate-nitrogen in water for 

human consumption. 

Nitrogen may also be toxic to fish. Nitrogen in the form of 

ammonia, at concentrations as low as 0.2 ppm has proven toxic to fish. Because nitrate-nitrogen is highly mobile, 

it is susceptible to leaching to ground water as well as 

transported to surface waters in runoff. 

Poultry waste may contain trace amounts of copper, arsenic, 

or selenium, but the concentration of these metals is 

usually considered too small to result in a water quality 

problem. 

Salts: 

Salts are added to animal feeds to maintain the animal's 

chemical balance and increase weight. Excess salts pass through the animal and are eliminated in the waste. Though it is not common, when the waste accumulates salt leaching 

and runoff could become a potential problem for both ground and surface water. Salts can alter the taste of drinking 

water. High concentrations of salts in streams and lakes can 

harm freshwater plant~ a~d animals. 

Conclusion: 

The awareness of potential water quality problems associated 

with poultry waste emphasizes the importance of poultry 

waste management. With proper management, not only can 

pollution from poultry waste be prevented, but its value as 

a resource can be realized. 

References 

Agricultural Waste Management Field Manual (Revised), USDASCS, unpublished. · 

Thomann, R. v., and J. A. Mueller, Principles of Surface 

Water Quality Modeling and Control, Harper & Row, 1987. 

Pollutants causing Water Use Impairments: Animal Waste, 

Background Paper for Water Quality ·Training Modules, USDAscs, 1984. 

Water Quality Field Guide, SCS-TP-160, USDA-SCS, 1983. 

Water Quality Indicators Guide: surface waters, SCS-TP-161, 

USDA-SCS, 1989. 

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