—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 31, 1973
30
Study Shows Most Wells Unfit For Use
More than half the farmers in
Lancaster County are en
dangering the health of their
families and their livestock by
letting them consume con- -
laminated well water, according
to two sampling
Testing of 27 northern Lan
caster County farms showed that
drinking water is unfit for human
consumption in about 60 percent
of the samplings.
Another sampling of about
1,200 farms in eastern Lancaster
County over the past five years
showed that the drinking water
was unfit for human consumption
in about 57 per cent of the sam
plings
HIGH BACTERIA COUNT
Most dangerous to the coun
ty’s rural residents and livestock
is the high content of coliform
bacteria in the water which
breeds typhoid, dysentery,
diarrhea and intestinal worms.
Also present in a majority of
the samplings was a high content
of nitrates which is also
dangerous especially to infants.
The alarming high incidence of
rural water supply pollution was
discussed by a panel of experts
Tuesday night before the
Kphrata Adult Farmer class at
Ephrata Area High School, which
conducted such a sampling in
aM INVITATION TO:
DAIRYMEN, POULTRYMEN,
LIVESTOCK FEEDERS.
Friday, April 6,2 P.M. & 7:30 P.M.
at Roy A. Brubaker’s Store, 700 Woodcrest Ave., 1 mile
Southwest of Lititz.
HIGH FEED COSTS? Our newest product line is an
automatic Mix-Mill farm feed processing system. The
basic Mix-Mill processer consists of a 4 or 5 ingredient
blender and grinder which is 98 percent accurate. Pac
kage systems are available with storage and" handling
facilities We plan to have a Mix-Mill unit on display. A
representative of the Mix-Mill Co. and a representative
of a pre-mix feed supplier will be here to help calculate
possible feed savings for your operation.
Ask about piu jgt >yi
30 ft high, 4 compartment, overhead ingredient
storage, building erected with processing center for
under $9OOO Also ask about Mix Mills soybean
cleaning and roasting equipment
L.H. BRUBAKER ROY A. BRUBAKER
350 Strasburg Pike
Lancaster, Pa
Tel. 397-5179
northern Lancaster County,
Charles Ackley, agriculture
teacher of the Ephrata Adult
Farmer program, said the
samplings were taken with the
utmost care and precision. He
said the situation is a grave one of
which many farmers are
unaware.
Dr. Melvyn G. Wenger, an
Ephrata veterinarian, said many
livestock abortions and poor
production, such as in dairy
cattle, can be attributed to
contaminated water.
He also noted that the polluted
water is just as dangerous, if not
more so, to humans. He 'said
breast-fed babies of mothers who
drink the contaminated water
can develop serious com
plications
According to the Ephrata area
samplings for the coliform test,
only 41 percent of the drinking
water was safe Ackley said 11
percent can be considered
hazardous and 48 percent unfit.
In the nitrate test, 37 percent
was found potable, with less than
10 parts per million of nitrates,
which ’63 percent tested un
suitable
One of the panel members, Dr
Robert D. Herr, vocational
agriculture teacher with the
Eastern Lancaster County School
Here are 6 reasons
why the new Mix-Mill
Feed Processing Center
is a better investment
than a PTO grinder-mixer:
1. Fast and easy Just load
in grains, set the dials.
Shuts off automatically
2 Low-cost operation
700 Woodcrest Ave.
Lititz, Pa.
Tel. 626-7766
District, said samplings con
ducted by his students over the
past five years show similar
results.
Dr. Herr said his students have
conducted over 1,200 samplings
over the past five years, with 57
percent testing unfit.
this year, he said, his student
took about 300 samples with 46.7
percent showing dangerous
levels of-coliform. In the nitrate
testing, he said 29 percent were
over die health standard.
He also said that in a study
three years ago, 52 percent of the
farms teasted showed unfit
water. Compared to that, he said
29 percent of rural nonfarm
'residents had contaminated
water and 40 percent of the
residents in developments
without municipal water supplies
showed unfit.
James Humphreville, a Lan
caster Consulting geologist, said
much of the problem results from
poorly placed wells.
Humphreville said his testing
has shown that many wells are
contaminated from nearby septic
tanks or drainage from nearby
cow pastures where either excess
manure ofc nitrate fertilizers are
in excess. '
According' to C. Robert
Graham, microbiologist with
Lancaster Laboratories Inc.,
water tests should be taken every
six months where well water is
used.
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A ALUS-CHALMERS
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Ephrata. R D. 2
Griimelli Form Service
Quarryville, Pa
BHM Farm Equipment, Inc.
Annville, R D 1, Pa.
Custom Had* spacing lets you match harrow to soil conditions:
Fina cut—7ss" front, 756” raar.
Medium cot-855" front, 755" raar.
Tough cut-855" front, 855" raar.
Choiea af It". 20" and 22" biada diamatan to match your
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Choiea of 10, t and 7-gauga biada thicknassaa ghias you tha
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Back-up Plata* on all bbda* provide extra strength near the spool
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Omar gang Madae are 2" lass m diameter than other blades to
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Nissley Form Service
Washington Boro, Pa
L. H. Brubaker
Lancaster, Pa
♦ *•*