Alabama Water Quality Information System

— Choose a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) —


	1.-		Are America's forests which help protect our land and water resources in danger of disappearing?


	2.-		Are there areas where surface waters exceed the drinking water standard for arsenic?


	3.-		Are there bacterial source tracking (BST) methodologies that rely on techniques other than DNA fingerprinting of fecal bacteria from different animals?


	4.-		Are there rules about where biosolids can be applied at bulk rates?


	5.-		Can anyone apply biosolids to land?


	6.-		Can I landfarm the contaminated soil from around my used oil tank?


	7.-		Can the fecal coliform/fecal streptococci (FC/FS) ratio be used to assess whether nonpoint pollution of surface waters in agricultural watersheds comes from fecal contamination by humans or other animals?


	8.-		Chicken litter is widely used as a soil amendment and as a source of nutrients for plants. Does this litter contain arsenic?


	9.-		Do agricultural food crops accumulate perchlorate from contaminated irrigation water?


	10.-		Do soils in fields that have been amended with animal manure contain more antibiotics and more antibiotic resistant bacteria than those soils that have received no animal manures?


	11.-		Does forest fertilization in the U.S. impact water quality?


	12.-		Does harvesting trees worsen the "greenhouse effect" which can impact water quality and the water cycle?


	13.-		Does treated lumber need to be painted, stained, or waterproofed to prevent weather damage?


	14.-		Food is essential for life and therefore agriculture is also essential, but there are environmental issues associated with agriculture. What are these environmental issues?


	15.-		Has the development of herbicide tolerant agricultural crops, also called genetically modified (GM) or transgenic crops, been beneficial to the environment, especially for pollution prevention and water quality improvement?


	16.-		How can overirrigating agricultural lands cause water quality problems?


	17.-		How can the development of transgenic (genetically modified, GM) agricultural plants benefit water quality and pollution prevention?


	18.-		How do average nitrogen and phosphorus levels in streams draining forested watersheds compare to levels in streams draining agricultural watersheds?


	19.-		How do I control erosion on my farm?


	20.-		How do toxic chemicals like cadmium, lead and arsenic get in products being marketed and applied to land as fertilizers in the United States?


	21.-		How does irrigation affect water quality?


	22.-		How does sulfate (SO4) get into ground water?


	23.-		How does the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) of USDA benefit the environment?


	24.-		How does the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) actually function?


	25.-		How does the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) of USDA work?


	26.-		How does toxic heavy metals get in �ag lime� that is commonly added to agricultural soils to raise pH?


	27.-		I am concerned about the impacts that treated wood may have on water quality and other parts of the environment. Where can I find answers to my questions about pressure treated wood?


	28.-		If forestry is so good for protecting water resources why do logging companies sometimes take all the trees out of an area?


	29.-		Is it possible to identify the animal species of origin for fecal coliform bacterial contamination of water sources?


	30.-		Is it reasonable to expect livestock farmers to achieve a zero-tolerance, i.e., absolutely no discharge of pollutants?

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This website was developed by the ACES Water Quality Team, under the leadership of Dr. James E. Hairston. It is funded, in part, by USDA-CSREES water quality grant support under Section 406 of the Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998.