by Robin Stanback
Years ago, the best Kentucky bourbon distillers touted the amazing attributes of the springs or wells from which they drew the water for their fine libations. Words and phrases like clear, pure, and limestone-filtered implied a sense of the unique qualities of that water to impart a special distinction to their product.
Kentucky horse breeders once used phrases like that, too. It was believed that the limestone-filtered water so prevalent in the area helped in the development of strong bones for the young Thoroughbreds that drank it. Although horses supposedly benefit from the water content in the pasture they eat, their drinking water rarely comes straight from the ground.
“We haven’t used well or spring water for our horses in 15 years,” said Bill Thomason, the financial and administrative manager for Mill Ridge Farm in Lexington. “Our wells dried up when the lands around us began to be developed. We use city water in all of our waterers and barns now.”
The construction that disrupted the natural water supplies to Mill Ridge and surrounding equine properties also affected local creeks, streams, and even the Kentucky River from which much of the Bluegrass region draws its drinking water.
“It isn’t just the blacktop in those subdivisions, but the rooftops too that have combined to create a problem in water volume, and also in pollutants such as oils and antifreeze that are washed into the creeks and streams,” Thomason said.
Nor is the Bluegrass region by any means unique. As development has encroached upon traditional horse-raising regions across the country, both water supply and water quality have been affected. But the events in Kentucky’s horse country provide an example of what has happened elsewhere or will occur.
Drought and rain
Few Kentucky farmers would have complained about a good, old-fashioned gully-washer last summer and fall. The drought that dried up the Bluegrass pastures and sent hay prices skyrocketing was record-breaking.
When the rains finally came, they were at times so intense that the parched soil could not soak up all the moisture. The runoff filled creeks and streams to overflowing. It also overwhelmed aging sewer lines affecting the Town Branch Wastewater Treatment Plant, named for the creek that runs under the city of Lexington.
The last major renovation of that facility was completed in 1987 and allowed the plant to treat wastewater from approximately 60% of its surrounding area, home to about 130,000 people. The 2006 census estimated Fayette County’s population at 270,789.
The increase in population put an overwhelming demand on the sewer and storm drains—so much so that the Fayette Urban County Government, which encompasses Lexington, recently reached a settlement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency over violations of the Clean Water Act.
As part of the consent decree, Lexington, Fayette County agreed to spend approximately $250-million on upgrading its sewage-treatment facilities. That money is likely to come from sewer-user fees that may jump 48% this year and an additional 35% next year.
The Town Branch feeds into the larger Elkhorn Creek, which empties into the Kentucky River. Along the way, Town Branch and Elkhorn Creek wind through some of Kentucky’s most prestigious Thoroughbred nurseries. Almost all of them have carefully fenced their horses away from the wetlands and creek beds to protect the horses and the waterways as well.
Wayne Sweezey, a managing partner of Darby Dan Farm, said: “On a normal day, the water that flows through Town Branch is very clean, but when a major rain event occurs, problems do, too. Salts and oils from roadways as well as fertilizers and feces from lawns and pastures are washed into the creek. If the treatment plant is overwhelmed, and that has happened, then there is even more to worry about in the water flowing down the creek.”
It does not always take a major rain event to cause serious problems. In September 2007, officials at the Town Branch Wastewater Treatment Plant admitted that a four-hour spill occurred, releasing partially treated effluent into Town Branch.
Because of the drought, there was considerably less water flowing in the creek. Oxygen levels dropped significantly, killing hundreds of fish. Sweezey discovered the problem as he was riding on the farm.
“Nobody called to tell us what had happened. We had to discover it on our own,” he said. “There were hundreds of fish floating in the water and on the creek banks.”
“It is a nightmare living downstream from the treatment facility in its current condition,” said Helen Alexander, owner of Middlebrook Farm. That nightmare is compounded, she pointed out, by yet another factor that compromises water quality: human disregard for the environment. “Every year we pull at least one entire dumpster full of garbage from the creek. Everything from tires and bottles to clothing and household garbage is thrown into the creeks. It is expensive and time-consuming for us to do this. I’ve never asked for help from the county in the past, but that may change,” she said.
Growth in Ocala
Marion County, Florida, which encompasses Ocala, is home to more than 600 Thoroughbred farms and has issues similar to those in Kentucky. It also is home to more than 250,000 people, a tremendous increase from the 1970s when fewer than 100,000 people resided there.
“Development has created challenges for our area, too,” Ocala Water and Sewer Department Director Jeff Halcomb said. “Developments have created more houses, rooftops, and roadways, but also more yards. People want their yards to look good, so they plant attractive grasses, not necessarily native grasses that require less water. Then they fertilize the grass and water it.
“Fifty percent of water consumed here is for irrigation. When you pull that much water out of your ground source, you are lowering the level of the water table and concentrating any contaminants that might be in it. Since you are watering the fertilizer back into the soil, you are even adding contaminants. One of the biggest problems we have is incorrect use of fertilizers. We are putting it into the soil faster than nature can dissipate it.”
Another very natural source of nitrogen, a main ingredient in most fertilizers, is horse manure. “Farms should look at how they are managing manure,” Halcomb said. “There are three basic methods: spreading it across the fields, stockpiling it, or hauling it off. Farms with wells or springs should look at how closely they are spreading or stockpiling the manure to their water source. And they should test their water source, too.”
In an effort to safeguard ground water, the Marion County Commission may enact a protection law that will restrict the stockpiling of manure, forcing area farms to find alternative methods of removing waste. The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association is looking into new methods of handling manure. The organization has formed a partnership with Global Green Solutions, an international company that has designed a plant to burn horse manure, turning it into steam for generating electricity.
It is estimated that Marion County Thoroughbreds produce some 400,000 tons of manure and muck per year. While a large amount of that is handled by composting and spreading, 100,000 tons of manure could translate into 12 megawatts of electricity. This power could be sold to electric companies to offset the $25-million it will cost to build the plant.
Horses are not as susceptible as humans to contaminants in water. However, testing the water that is supplied to them is just as necessary, said Laurie Lawrence, Ph.D., equine nutritionist for the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture. “Natural water sources can contain some nutrients that horses need, but those same sources also can carry a number of things horses do not need. It would be advisable to test natural water sources regularly, but especially in years when there are heavy rains or drought,” she said.
Water that contains higher loads of nitrogen and phosphorus can feed algae that are toxic to horses. High fecal coliform levels may indicate a greater threat of waterborne disease-carrying organisms. Another serious concern is that stagnant or contaminated water may discourage a horse from drinking, which is a potential cause of colic for the horse.
But what about those good nutrients like the calcium and phosphorus that might be in water filtered through limestone, as it is in many parts of the Kentucky Bluegrass region?
“Those nutrients were certainly very important years ago when people did not have access to fortified feeds,” Lawrence said. “Today that is not the case. Most horse feeds contain all the major and minor minerals horses require. Farm owners do not need to depend upon their water source to provide those minerals.”
Western hay fields
Much of the hay grown in Western states is irrigated with water drawn from streams and underground aquifers.
“In this part of the country, we do not rely upon rain to water our hay fields,” said Steve Duren, Ph.D., of Performance Horse Nutrition in Weiser, Idaho. “We draw from underground aquifers and streams that have been replenished by the melting snow pack in the mountains.
“Right now, depending upon farming practices, our underground aquifers in this area are fairly clean. You don’t have to look far back to find plenty of examples of people being affected by tainted water used on foodstuffs. It was only a few years ago that many people became ill from E. coli contamination after eating lettuce that had been irrigated with tainted water.
“We are in the infancy of testing how contaminants in water used to irrigate hay fields might affect the growing plant and what contaminants might cling to the plant surface after it has been processed into hay.”
In Kentucky and surrounding states, irrigating hay fields may become a necessity should last year’s drought conditions be followed by more of the same. The lack of rain certainly raised environmental awareness.
“Since 2001, all landowners with ten or more acres used for agriculture in our state are required to develop a water quality plan,” said Amanda Abnee Gumbert, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture extension specialist for water quality. “While this has not been enforced, certainly anyone wishing to participate in state and federal cost-share programs must have one.
“Having the plan is a good thing, but it really needs to be implemented as well. It is not a lengthy or difficult process, and farmers can obtain help from their local extension agents or from their conservation district office to develop a plan. Soon, farmers will be able to access a website that is under development at the University of Kentucky that will help them develop a plan.
“Most items in a plan are common-sense farming practices like rotational grazing and buffering the runoff of animal feces and chemicals from fertilization with a riparian zone around the stream or creek. Farmers should also limit animal access to creeks and streams so that erosion and sediment problems can be avoided.”
Middlebrook, like many Thoroughbred nurseries in the Bluegrass, follows those guidelines to the letter. Horses are fenced away from streams, creeks, and wetlands, muck and manure are hauled away from the farm to be mulched, and creek beds are cleaned of trash regularly. This management has come at some expense.
“I have had to replace good fencing in two fields that were flooded to keep horses off of grass that might have been contaminated,” Alexander said. “I don’t know how many times I have had to repair the bridge on my property from erosion and damage caused by material floating in the water during floods.”
The answer to clean waterways and safe drinking water for horses and humans will be a combined endeavor. “Everyone is interested in having a cleaner city and a cleaner environment,” Alexander said. “It takes some time and effort, but it also will take education. We have to reach schoolchildren to make them aware of the importance of protecting their natural resources, and we have to be the examples they follow.”