Report: Cows, chickens taint Shenandoah River with E. coli

RICHMOND, Va. — Excessive livestock manure from millions of turkeys, chickens and cows in Virginia is making its way into the Shenandoah River, polluting the scenic waterway with unsafe levels of E. coli, according to a new report from an environmental advocacy group.

The Environmental Integrity Project analyzed hundreds of state records for the report released Wednesday. In addition to E. coli, which can sicken the swimmers, fishermen and tubers who flock to the river, the report also found elevated levels of phosphorous, which contributes to the growth of algae blooms and low-oxygen “dead zones.”

“The Shenandoah Valley is a place of incomparable beauty and cultural value, but its continued health is at risk,” says the report, which suggests the state’s manure management system isn’t adequately protecting human health or water quality and is undermining Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts.

The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, which has some 3,500 members, pushed back against the report, calling it “an opinion piece” that aims to paint agriculture in a bad light.

The report focuses on four counties in the bucolic Shenandoah Valley that are also home to a large-scale farming industry. The Shenandoah runs through them before joining the Potomac, which empties into the Chesapeake Bay.

Farmers in Augusta, Page, Rockingham and Shenandoah counties raise more than 172 million chicken and turkeys a year and over a half-million dairy and beef cows, the report says. Those animals generate more than 410,000 tons of poultry litter and one billion gallons of liquid manure a year.

Pollution management plans, also called nutrient management plans, are only required for large livestock operations, which account for only 12.5 percent of the farmland in those counties, the report says.

Furthermore, the state’s manure control system allows manure containing far more phosphorous to be applied than the crops need, according to the report. That manure can leak into groundwater or is washed into surrounding streams when it rains.

The health department didn’t respond to requests for comment about the state’s policies.