TBE EFFECT OF POULTRY WASTE ON GROUND AND SURFACE WATER

WilliamH. Boyd Environmental Engineer, PE USDA Soil Conservation Service 555 Vandiver Drive Columbia, Missouri 65202
Questign: Is poultry waste a resource or a pollutant? Answer: Ithas 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 propermanagement, poultrywaste can adversely impact the use of water for such activities as drinking, processing, washing, fishing, swimming, andboating. This paperwill explainwhy poultrywaste management is a water quality concernby (1) identifying the characteristics ofpoultrywaste, and (2) describing possible impacts on surface and ground waters. Poultrywaste Characteristics Many of characteristics ofpoultrywaste which give it potential value as a resource are the same characteristics that make it a potential pollutant. According to the new 

### scs, Agricultural WasteManagement FieldManual (not yet publi$hed) poultrywaste has the following characteristics. Table 1. Characteristics of "As Excreted" PoultryManure1
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 PoultryManure 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 PoultryWaste OD

### Water Quality The effects of poultrywaste on a water body will depend in part on the physical, bioloqical, and chemical characteristics of that waterbody. 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
224through the soil, by runoff from areas where the waste has " been applied to the land andby direct discharge. Potential water**pollut~nts** in poultrywaste may be classified as (a) nutrients, (b) oxygen-demanding materials, (c) suspended materials, (d) pathogens, (e) toxic substances and (f) salts. Hutrients: Nitrogen andphosphorus 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 andweeds can settle to the colderbottomwater of deep waterbodies 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 cloggedby 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 matterby 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 nitrifyingbacteria populations grow. In a river or otherplug-flow situation the greatest effect of NBOD may occur several miles down stream from where the organicmatter enters the system. The NBOD is the effect of two biological reactions. In the first reactionNitrosomonas bacteria oxidizes ammonia to nitrite. In the second reactionNitrobacter 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 andproduce methane, amines, and sulfide. §uspendedMatter: Suspendedmatter from poultrywaste can lead to low levels of oxygen production in surfacewater by reducing the penetration of sunlight and consequently slowing the production of free oxygen by photosynthesis. Suspended matter can cloq fish qills and interferewith 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 suspendedmatter settle itcan interfere with channel flow and reduce reservoir storage. suspendedmatter can give the water a turbid appearance and reduce visibility. Low density organicmatter floating to the surface canbe aestheticallyunpleasing. Itmay be costly to remove suspendedmatter from domestic and industrial water supplies. Patbogens: •Pathogens" as used in this paper includes all disease causing**o~ganisms** includingbut not limited to bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Animal waste are potential sources of approximately 150 diseases. Pathogens from water can infecthumans through drinking water, contactwith the skin, and through consumption of aquatic animals carrying the pathogens. The presence of pathogens is notjust a concern for humans, itcan also cause problems in.other organisms including otherpoultry. Most pathoqens will die off in a relatively short time, but under the right conditions theymay 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 thepresence of pathogenic organisms.**~oxic** SyQstancga: Toxic substances from poultrywaste 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 inmethemoglobinemia in**inf~nts** (the blue baby syndrome) which could result in

226cell grams c

nclude er oi!erobic

levels he e nded eeding g q the**~** high with :edmattE

· 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. Nitrogenmay 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 thesemetals is usually considered too small to result in a water quality problem. Salts: Salts are added to animal feeds tomaintain 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 couldbecome 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 poultrywaste emphasizes the importance of poultry waste management. Withpropermanagement, not only can pollution from poultrywaste be prevented, but its value as a resource can be realized.

References Agricultural WasteManagement FieldManual (Revised), USDASCS, unpublished. · Thomann, R. 

## v., andJ. A. Mueller, Principles of Surface Water QualityModeling and Control, Harper 

### &Row, 1987. Pollutants causingWater Use Impairments: Animal Waste, Background Paper for Water Quality·TrainingModules, 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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