A farmstead's potential for groundwater contamination is similar to a person's heart disease potential. Two people may make the same lifestyle choices, such as diet and exercise, but a different genetic makeup may make one person more vulnerable to heart disease. It's the same with the farmstead.
Every farmstead is unique.
You cannot change the features of your farmstead, but once you are aware of them you can modify your activities to minimize the potential for groundwater contamination. You need to evaluate your farmstead's site characteristics to determine the potential for groundwater and surface water contamination. This publication is designed to help you gather basic information on your farmstead. This publication contains instructions on how to diagram your farmstead and a short evaluation based on your farmstead's site characteristics. Get the Farmstead Characteristics Publication in PDF format.