22 —Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 3,1971 Eastern Schools Find About 50% of Water Systems Polluted Eastern Lancaster County School District elementary agri culture students have partici pated in what is regarded as the most extensive water testing pro gram ever conducted in Lancas ter County—possibly in South eastern Pennsylvania. And the results have farmers and development dwellers alike talking. The buzz stems from the fact that about half of the 800 private water systems tested during the past four years has been found to contain water that is polluted and unsafe for human consump tion, based on state health de partment standards. Of 297 private water systems checked during the past year, well over half, some 56.6 per cent, had coliform and 29 per cent had a nitrate level above tne minimum safe level set by the state The state coliform standard is zero, about one fourth of the sys tems tested showed a count of 16-plus which is the highest count the test will show. 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Sixth grade students in the ag program, which is under the di rection of Robert Herr, had the opportunity to have the home water supply tested. This year 297 were tested and in the prev ious three years another 500 were tested. Herr estimated about 95 per cent of the sixth grade students participated in the strictly voluntary program Robei t Simon, Eastern District School superintendent, who has shown an interest in t’.c gram, stated, “We look for pur ity in food, but water can be ]u=. as important.” Herr said the coliform can bs removed from private well or spring systems by installation of a clonnator or ultra violet light system. But he emphasized that there is no practical way to re- YOUR MONEY does (SAY DOYTZ) tractors perform so efficiently, it is not smaller model will do tbe job—resulting in substantial savings to you. Come take a look at the new Deutz tractors and find out what we mean. Try one of these “Torque Span” Diesels. Available in 40 - 55 - 65 - 80 and 105 H.P. sizes. Diesel, Inc. it unusual to find a Robert Herr, left, Eastern School district elementary ag teacher, and Robert Simon, school district superintendent, plot the loca tions of contaminated water systems in the move the nitrate. Coliform, which are living or ganisms that appear m animal waste or sewage, can be disease carriers. Problems stemming from coliform can include typ hoid fever, dysentary, diarrehea, No Other Protein Need When You Feed USE ONLY Vs M. SPECIAL TANVILAC PER HEAD PER DAY WITH GRAIN AND ROUGHAGE GET BIGGER PROFITS ! FOR MORI PROFITS—MAIL COUPON - 1 ; THE TANVILAC COMPANY, INC. • tth A earning Aves., »ox M, Highland | I Park Station, Das Moines 13, lawa ■ I • Please Send Me Additional Informs- I ■ tion about Special Tanvilac J i I have . Cattle | i ; NAME 1 ADDRESS WHEAT WANTED! TOP PRICES PAID FOR EARLY CUT WHEAT FOR MANUFACTURING OF Snavely’s Best and Matchless Family Flour No Waiting Fast Unloading and Drying L M. SNAVELY Lititz, RDI Ph. 626-6256 or 626-6258 district on a map. Studies over the past four years indicate about half of all water systems in the district are contaminated. and intestinal worms. According to a Penn State Uni versity publication, these micro scopic organisms are odorless, colorless and tasteless and get into the body without any warn ing if contaminated water is con SPECIAL TANYILAC Feeders Say , . . “The Most Economical Feeding Plan of All" No trouble with scours or cattle going off feed. You’ll be more than satisfied with our feeding program for you’ll get healthy stock, quick gains at low cost. Kemember, there’s a FEED LOT PROVEN TANVILAC CULTURE PRODUCT FOR EVERY FARM-FEEDING PURPOSE. sumed. Although the water in —the glass may be cool, clear, and sparkling bright, that is no proof that it is safe to drink, Penn State emphasizes. The nitrate problem is of a different nature. The state health department notes that “serious and occasionally fatal poisonings in infants have occur red following ingestion of well water shown to contain nitrates.” The bulletin also notes that: “Nitrate poisoning appears to be confined to infants during their first few months of life; adults drinking the same water are not affected but breast-fed infants of mothers drinking the water may be poisoned.” Also, “Both man and animals can he poisoned by nitrate if the concentration is sufficiently great..” What is the source of this pol lution? While the sources are varied and sometimes difficult or impossible to pinpoint in spe cific instances, much of the problem stems from the area’s fine limestone soil. While this soil is an excellent producer of farm crops, it will also carry pol lution for miles in the under ground water system. This means that a contaminated water system may be contaminated from a source several miles away. The initial 500-samples were evaluated according to their location on farms, rural non farms and developments. It was found that 52 per cent of farm water systems were polluted, 29 per cent of rural non-farm sys tems were polluted and 40 per cent of systems in developments were polluted. While the reason for the high rate of polluted systems on farms is not known for sure, Herr spe culated it is probably from ani mal waste run-off. He said that the development pollution prob ably stems largely from drainage from septic tanks. He said he also noticed that where there is a stream nearby, the chances are very good for a polluted sys tem. Looking to the future, Herr foresees that the problem of pol luted water systems will become much greater in the school dis trict. He notes that there’s new industry, new developments, and higher concentrations of live stock on farms. All these help pollute the underground water system. Herr emphasized that it’s very difficult to evaluate the pollution from a health standpoint unless there is something sensational (Continued on Page 23)
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