Farm Runoff - Bio Filtration

[tizeye]

Hi guys
Is anybody here into Green Tech technologies?.. is farm runoff a major pollution issue over there?..here in NZ farm runoff is costing the country millions every day through polluted waterways and the effect that has on wild life. Just asking because I'm interested in the environment and ways that I can help it recover from the damage already done.
Pete

[vwjuice]

I can't speak for the rest of our country, but I know on my grandparents farm it is not a problem at all. I can't think of a time when there was a problem anywhere near town.

[tizeye]

So you are saying that they don't have runoff into rivers?..or do they treat it in some other way?
Thanks

[vwjuice]

Well we have runoff, but we aren't allowed to use any pesticieds or anything around where I live. The only runoff would be rain water around here.

[tizeye]

Well we have runoff, but we aren't allowed to use any pesticieds or anything around where I live. The only runoff would be rain water around here.

What about stock effluent..what do you do with the poos and wees?

[LowClassCC]

around here its something that don't come up much. it is a problem but it just seems that they try to keep it quiet so everyone don't know. once in a while you will hear about something but not very often. local pig farmer had his farm closed down and taken from him and fined over $150,000 for contamination of a creek from the runoff from his farm. zero media coverage about any of the past "warnings" that the epa gave him, nothing on his previous fines, and nothing about the toxic creek. the info was not even given to his neighbors who had kids that played in the creak down stream. but after the fact that they took his farm and fined him big they released the info to the media.

other news just reported in today's paper that a power plant had been dumping coal waste and heavy metals and phosphates into an old mine. it has contaminated the water table in that area and drinking water is not drinkable. many reports of health issues and nothing came of it. epa did not investigate due to lack of evidence even though 3 reported deaths allegedly from it. company owner even admitted and apologized of wrong doing. still no investigation.

from my point of view they basically cover it up to prevent a panic at the cost of public health.

[tizeye]

Yep we have pretty much the same problems here but at least the government is trying to do something about it...farming..in particular dairy farming is huge in some parts of NZ and farm runoff is becoming more and more of a problem as the farms get bigger. So I figured that coming up for solutions for a such big problem might be a good idea...

So I've decided that biofiltration has to be one answer..at least you are using nature to purify the water and not some added chemicals..and the reality is that it's not that hard to do..you just need to be able to retain the polluted discharge long enough for the biofiltration to take place..and I have a way of doing that..if this sort of stuff is of interest to anybody PM me...it's or World and we need to start cleaning our act up..

Green Tech is the road to reversing the damage we have done to our planet..

[vwjuice]

The first way to clean it up is that you have to limit the amount of cattle per acre. We always kept a small herd just for problems like this one. The bigger the herd the more waste that hits the ground. If you keep a small herd then the ground will absorb a lot of it and filter naturally. Also clean up the poo and then it can be used as fertilizer.