The University, the Wood County Health Department and other members of the Northwest Ohio Water Quality Work Group have formed a collaborative project to determine bacteria sources in local waterways.

The water sampling takes place near Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in Wood County.

The testing is designed to determine if the streams, creeks and ditches contain traces of E. coli and other related bacteria. Samples are also taken from water sources near septic tanks and wastewater treatment plants.

A CAFO is large farm used for raising mass amounts of livestock in a confined area.

CAFOs apply about 25 million gallons of manure a year to the fields where cows and other livestock feed, said Robert Midden, director of the Residential Academic Program.

Midden said the main concerns are with the large amounts of fertilizer not entirely absorbing into the field and also the fertilizer seeping into the ground water.

These things could be very harmful to the rural families who use the ground water in their homes, Midden said.

The idea for the project came from the community’s concern with the CAFOs moving into the county.

As a member of the Chapman Community, Midden wanted to use science to help examine this concern.

There are now 15 students involved in the water quality project through the Chapman Community.

These students venture into the field about two times a week, when weather permits, to continue the search for the bacterial sources.

“Having the water near your home tested is important. I’m glad to know there is at least someone making sure the local water is safe and clean,” said Muizz Ahmed, a sophomore at the University. He had not heard of CAFOs, but said good water quality should always be a priority.

Before the project began, the CAFOs had background sampling performed to understand prior conditions of the ecology. According to Midden, the results showed pollution existed before the farms due to failing

septic tanks.

“CAFOs have a potential to cause a very high level of pollution, but we don’t yet know, which is why we’re monitoring them and need to continue monitoring them,” Midden said.

Locations like the Manders, Reyskens, Naomi and Green Dairy farms are all near some of the waterways being examined for bacteria.

Members involved in the project want to identify other factors that influence the water, including nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, total nitrogen, phosphorous, total suspended solids, dissolved oxygen and pH levels.

Midden hopes the project will expand into a comprehensive study of the Portage River Watershed, which could last for two to three years.

This study would focus on the water quality of Lake Erie, along with its expanding amounts dying aquatic life.

The Chapman Community, the Wood County Health Department, U.S Geological Survey, Heidelberg College, University of Toledo and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency are only six of the 22 members of the northwest Ohio Water Quality Work Group.

According to Espen, this group is guiding the whole project.

The project has received about $40,000 in grants and donations from the Wood County Health Department, Wood County Commissioners, Great Lakes Protection Fund and Partnerships for Community Action.

Assistance from the Western Lake Erie Base and Partnership and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is also being applied for, according to Midden.

“It’s a great collaboration and why we’ve been so successful,” Espen said.