Milking Center Wash Water Treatment: Assessing Drinking Water Contamination Risk

For each category listed on the left that is appropriate to your situation, click the box under rank 1-4 that best applies. Your "rank number" will then be genrated on the right.

Glossary for this Fact Worksheet

Information for this Fact Worksheet (PDF)

 

Please Select Your County:

No Discharge Methods (Addressed in Section 1)
 
Low Risk
(rank 4)
Low-Mod Risk
(rank 3)
Mod-High Risk
(rank 2)
High Risk
(rank 1)
Your Rank
1. All wash water to storage and later applied to fields* Wash water delivered directly to liquid manure storage. No discharge expected. --- --- Wash water delivered to leaking or frequently overflowing manure storage.

 

 

 

 
*If using this practice, do not complete the rest of this worksheet.

Treatment Of Milking Center Wash Water Before Disposal (Addressed in Section 2)

2. Milking cleanup practices First pipeline rinse
captured and added to barn manure. Waste milk never poured down drain. Manure and excess feed removed from parlor before wash-down.		 Waste milk poured down drain 10 percent of the time. Manure and excess feed usually removed before wash-down. Waste milk poured down drain 50 percent of the time. Manure and excess feed often washed down drain. All waste milk poured down drain emptying into ditch. Manure and excess feed frequently washed down drain emptying into ditch.

 

 
3. Storage/ settling tank liner Concrete or plastic lined. Clay lined. Cracked or porous liner. No liner to prevent
seepage.

 

 
4. Settling tank
cleanout		 Tank cleaned as needed or every month. Tank cleaned every
3-4 months.		 Annual cleaning. Tank never cleaned.

 

 
5. Liquid storage period following settling 9-12 months. 1 week to 9 months. Less than 1 week. No storage/settling. Wash water discharged directly to soil as generated.

 

 

Land Application Site
6. Distance from drinking water well More than 250 feet
downslope from well.		 More than 250 feet upslope from well. Less than 250 feet downslope from well. Less than 250 feet upslope from well.

 

 

Discharge Methods (Addressed in Section 3)

7. Field application

or

 Applied to growing crops. Nutrient and water needs of crop not exceeded. Vegetation removed regularly. Applied to uncropped fields. Nutrient and water needs of vegetation not exceeded. Vegetation removed occasionally. Applied to cropped or uncropped fields. Plant nutrient needs not
exceeded. Plant water needs exceeded
occasionally. Vegetation may or may not be
removed.		 Applied consistently to same area. Rates exceed vegetation nutrient and water needs. Vegetation rarely removed.

 

 
Slow surface
infiltration		 Combined with high-
level pretreatment. Medium or fine-textured soil (silt loam, loam, clayloams, clay) more than 10 feet to water table or bedrock.
Extended rest period between loadings. Vegetation removed.		 Combined with high-
level pretreatment.
Medium or fine-textured soil (silt loam, loam, clayloams, clay) more than three feet to water table or bedrock. Extended rest period between loadings.
Vegetation removed.		 Some pretreatment.
Medium or fine-textured
soil (silt loam, loam, clay
loams, clay) more than two to three feet over bedrock or high water table. Vegetation not removed.		 No pretreatment. Less than two feet of medium
or fine-textured soil (silt loam, loam, clay loams,
clay) above bedrock or high water table.
Vegetation not removed.