Thursday, Feb 17 2011 3:25PM
Farmers who own livestock depend on measures that sanitize drinking water, as waste from cattle and other animals may contaminate groundwater.
Budget cuts to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could affect clean water supplies in rural communities around the country, effectively limiting the amount of safe drinking water in those areas, reported The Hill.
The Continuing Resolution - soon to be released by the U.S. House - makes severe reductions for critical functions of the EPA, reported the paper. In outlying communities where animal agriculture is a huge industry, less funding for clean water means water system services could be tainted by the almost one billion tons of untreated manure which is applied to cropland each year.
Local water utilities usually spend millions each year monitoring and treating water, reported the paper, programs that may be cut if the EPA loses funding. According to the agency, about 43 percent of Americans have suffered from pathogen contamination, a figure that could rise if communities are unable to properly sanitize their water.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, California officials say agricultural livestock has contaminated more than 100,000 square miles of the state's groundwater with nitrate, a chemical that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says is dangerous for humans when consumed in high amounts.