Each flock of 20,000 or 30,000 chickens produces about 30 tons of litter. A chicken farmer with three houses who raises six flocks a year has to dispose of more than 540 tons of litter a year. Overall, farmers along the South Branch and Lost River need to get rid of at least 150,000 tons of litter a year. That's more than 10 times the solid sewage produced by the city of Charleston annually. If this litter isn't handled properly, it can pollute nearby streams.
Litter stored in uncovered piles can wash off when it rains, filling streams with harmful bacteria.
Litter that is spread too heavily on crops for fertilizer can run off into streams, clogging them with nitrogen and phosphorous. Some farmers, like Paul Homan, are fortunate. Homan has 300 acres of pasture and hayfields on which he spreads most of the litter for fertilizer. He easily sells the rest to three nearby farmers, who also use it to fertilizer their fields. Most poultry farmers in the Potomac Valley aren't as well equipped.