Article published Sunday, June 29, 2008 in the
Stephenville Empire Tribune
(http://www.empiretribune.com/)

The article can also be accessed through the Stephenville Empire Tribune website (http://www.empiretribune.com/). Click HERE to go directly to the article on the Stephenville Empire Tribune website.

Experts question accuracy of Waco report
By WHITNEY WHITE-ASHLEY
Staff Writer
whitney.ashley@empiretribune.com
Published: Sunday, June 29, 2008 6:14 PM CDT

Water concerns are nothing new in the state of Texas. Whether it’s the aquifers, the coast, droughts, floods, or the many streams and rivers, there is always something to worry about.

And so goes the battle between the City of Waco and Erath County dairies. On Tuesday, June 17, the Waco Tribune-Herald published a story saying the efforts of Erath County dairies to reduce pollution entering the North Bosque River have made no difference.

The story cites a 1,000-page report done by ENSR, an environmental and energy development consulting firm. Spokesman Ken Wagner presented the report to an audience in Waco. He said Erath County dairies account for 55-percent of the phosphorous found in Lake Waco. The phosphorous levels have accelerated the growth of blue-green algae in the lake, causing problems with Waco’s drinking water.

Kirsten Voinis, a spokeswoman for the Texas Association of Dairymen (TAD) said the algae blooms began long before dairies expanded on the North Bosque River.

“The bottom line is that Lake Waco’s water is safe to drink and is not a threat to public health,” Voinis said. “This has been confirmed by several thorough analyses by state regulators and the City of Waco itself. Taste and odor problems associated with algae blooms have been an issue since the late 1960s, long before the expansion of upstream dairies.”

Voinis also noted the study cited by Wagner was funded by Waco taxpayers at a cost of $1.8 million.

Ernie Casbeer, Democratic candidate for House District 59, questioned the study as well. He said he has spoken to officials from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and was told there is no way to identify where the phosphorous originates. He wondered how Wagner was able to point precisely to how much phosphorous was coming from specific sources when other experts contend it simply can not be done.

Republican House Representative, of District 59, Sid Miller, who serves as chairman of the Agricultural and Livestock Committee, said he is all too familiar with the water dispute.

“This research is suspect,” Miller said. “But if it is accurate, then the dairies aren’t the problem.”

Miller said the City of Stephenville, as well as local dairymen, have spent millions of dollars to comply with regulations. Therefore, if the ENSR study is accurate, the phosphorous in Lake Waco is not coming from Erath dairies.

“Logically then, the dairies aren’t the problem,” Miller said.

Ron Jones has been a researcher with the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER) since it came to Tarleton State University in 1990. He worked on environmental research in the late 1960s that helped write the 1972 environmental laws.

Jones said phosphorous is an important element to plants and cows, although a little bit goes a long way. In cows, phosphorous is important for reproduction. Dairy cows receive phosphorus from grain, forage and supplemental sources.

If phosphorous levels are too low, the reproductive ability of the cows may be inhibited. So, many cattle nutritionists began overusing phosphorous supplements in feed. The result was an increase in phosphorous levels in cow manure, which is often recycled and used as fertilizer on fields.

Consequently, Jones said additional phosphorous is put into the soil. There, it mineralizes and becomes water-soluble. The phosphorous is then washed into rivers and streams by rain. In recent years, local dairymen have reduced phosphorous supplements in the feed.

“One million acres of the Bosque Watershed drains into Lake Waco,” Jones said. “We are on the north end with dairies located in the upper north Bosque River watershed.”

The dairies cover 361,000 acres of the watershed and it is impossible to say if changes made today will show measurable results five years down the line.

Through the years, chicken farmers, dairymen, and even homeowners have used the land, each one contributing to the phosphorous levels in the soil.

Jones said due to the complexity of natural systems, and the way land is used and managed, it is impossible to control all points where pollutants may enter a water source. Furthermore, there is no way to know how long it will take for current phosphorous levels to be naturally removed from the soil.

According to the Tribune-Herald, Wagner said Waco could help the algae problem by aerating the lake and stocking it with predator fish.

Voinis was also concerned that Waco was not being completely objective about the source of water contaminants in Lake Waco. In April 2007, the city experienced two large sewage spills totaling more than 5 million gallons of wastewater. Water from both spills entered the Brazos River.

The TCEQ eventually fined the City of Waco $54,720 in April 2008.

Part of Waco’s strategy to combat the phosphorous levels in the lake is to oppose new dairy permits.

“These new permits would require the dairies to operate under more stringent environmental requirements adopted by TCEQ in 2004,” Voinis said. “Yet, four years later, very few permits have been issued.”

Miller said dairymen have been waiting for years for permits, but Waco has hindered the process by continually suing to prevent the permits from being issued. Consequently, dairies are operating under older and more relaxed regulations.

The effect has been a decline in operational dairies. An ongoing study by the Federal Milk Market Administrator in Dallas shows 211 dairies were operating in Erath in 1994. In 2000, the number dropped to 160 dairies. Only 90 were reported in 2007, with fewer than 50,000 cows combined. The result is a 19-percent drop in milk volume between 2000 and 2007.

“We take this situation very seriously,” Miller said. “I don’t know one dairyman unwilling to make changes. But Waco is not interested. They only want to drive the industry out of the watershed.”

Casbeer said the drop in production is a direct result of the loss of jobs on the dairies.

“The government has used the idea that for every one job created, the trickle effect creates four more jobs,” Casbeer said. “But the same theory works backwards as well. For every job you eliminate, four more jobs are gone.”

Casbeer cites the growing financial burden on local dairies. The costs to keep up with changing regulations have become prohibitive and dairymen are choosing to relocate to West Texas and New Mexico.

“Family farms are the strength of our country,” Casbeer said.

Indeed, in a town where “Moo-La” stands guard over the Courthouse Square, the dairy industry is a vital keystone in the community. At a time when the entire country is suffering from higher prices at the gas pump and at the grocery store, all parties involved seem to be willing to come to a consensus.

“For the dairy industry to survive, two things have to happen,” Jones said. “First, dairies must be able to increase herd size in a predictable manner. Second, you must have new entrants coming into the industry.”

“Water quality in the watershed is improving, and it will continue to improve if we give the new permits an opportunity to be implemented,” Voinis said. “Central Texas dairies are ready to do more if the city of Waco would allow the process to proceed at the TCEQ for the issuance of individual dairy permits.”

The article by the Waco Tribune-Herald said Waco city officials hope the ENSR study will help dairies and the city continue to work to improve water quality.