Milking Center Wash Water Treatment Fact/Worksheet

Why should I be concerned?

How will these materials help me to protect my drinking water?

How do I complete the worksheet?

Why should I be concerned?

Dairy wash water is usually considered a dairy sanitation problem. If not carefully managed, however, dairy wash water can contaminate both surface and ground-water sources.

The amount of wash water generated varies with milking preparation, equipment used, and the number of cows. A 100-cow, free-stall operation may use anywhere from 100 to 1,000 gallons of water per day in the milking center alone.

Milking center wash water is contaminated with organic matter, nutrients, chemicals, and microorganisms. Poorly designed or mismanaged waste water disposal systems can contaminate surface and ground water with ammonia, nitrate, phosphorus, detergents, and disease-causing organisms. Surface water can also be contaminated by manure, milk solids, ammonia, phosphorus, and detergents.

The goal of Home*A*Syst is to help you protect the environment and your drinking water.

How will these materials help me to protect my drinking water?

  • It will take you step-by-step through your fertilizer storage, handling, and disposal practices.
  • It will rank your activities according to how they might affect the ground water that provides your drinking water supply.
  • It will provide you with easy-to-understand rankings that will help you analyze the risk level of your fertilizer storage, handling, and disposal practices.
  • It will help you determine which of your practices are reasonably safe and effective, and which practices might require some modification to better protect your drinking water.

How do I complete the worksheet?

After reviewing the information provided, select Go To The Worksheet in links at the left. It should take you about 15 to 30 minutes to complete the worksheet and summarize your risk rankings.

Information derived from Home*A*Syst worksheets is intended only to provide general information and recommendations to rural residents regarding their own homestead practices. It is not the intent of this educational program to keep records of individual results.