A One Health Approach To Determining Adverse Effects Of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Farming On Surrounding Water Quality In Sampson County, NC

Sampson County, NC contains the second more CAFOs in the United States. CAFO waste is commonly stored in open-air basins comprised of fecal matter, urine, and elemental contaminants. Surrounding water sources are at risk of contamination due to both the runoff from these lagoons, and the use of their contents as ‘organic’ fertilizer. Additionally, periodic flooding due to Atlantic hurricanes has been shown to contaminate surface waters. Hog feces and urine are stores in open-air basins called lagoons. Although rich in nutrients, hog lagoons also contain elemental, anion, microbial, and nutrient wastes. The concentration of these contaminants was analyzed in both household and stream water using ion chromatography (IC), inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and 3M Petrifilm E. coli tests. Additionally, the quality of surface water near hog and poultry CAFOs was analyzed with the use of benthic macroinvertebrate biomonitoring using several indices of biodiversity and aquatic health. The One Health approach considers both human and environmental health concerns. We hypothesized that would be correlated with proximity to CAFOs and density of CAFOs. Statistical analyses showed no significant correlations between CAFO proximity and density and water quality.