Pollution of Ground Water by Farming

Have you ever travelled in the countryside in spring and noticed a disgusting smell?

Presumably, a farmer has sprayed manure on his fields in order to fertilize them. It is no problem to apply small amounts of manure without over-fertilizing the soil. If huge amounts of excrement are regularly dumped on the fields, though, the plants can only use up a small part as fertilizer. The rest, especially the nitrate, contaminates the ground water and therefore posses a risk to the potable water.

Nitrate is especially dangerous for infants until the sixth month, because it can be transformed to nitrite by bacteria. Nitrite inhibits the transportation of oxygen in the blood. Furthermore, it can be transformed into carcinogenic substances in the body.

Further pollution of the water through farming is caused by pesticides:

Pesticides are chemically produced substances, which are mainly used in farming for killing unwanted plants (weeds), fungi or animals (pests). In Europe alone, 300 000 tons of pesticides are sprayed onto cereals, maize, fruits, vines, etc. or directly introduced into the soil. They are leached into rivers and streams by the rain, passed on by the wind or they directly seep into the ground water through the soil.

The sparing application of fertilizers and the use of biological pesticides would relieve the environment a lot.