[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]





                                                     HERES HOW
                                                    FARMERS


								PROTECT GUAM'S
						    WATER  ECONOMY  FUTURE








                                            PUBLISHED BY THE GUAM COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
                                             Funded by a grant from the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource
                                               Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
 







					NONPOINT POLLUTION IS...






                       

                                        pollution from human activities


                                        small scale


                                        mostly unnoticeable by itself


                                        harmful mostly when it accumulates


                                        manageable


                                        capable of ruining our economy


                                        inexpensive to manage


                                        prevented with good housekeeping
 





                                                          THE PROBLEM
                                                          POLLUTION OF OUR COASTAL
									         AND SURFACE WATERS
										    BY NORMAL FARMING



                                     Farmers are usually very good at taking care of
                                   their land. Your farm may not have many obvious
                                                         problems, but there are com-
                                                                           mon farming
                                                                       activities that do

                                                                           contribute to
                                                                        pollution of our
                                                                   coastal and surface

                                                              waters. Your contribution
                                                          may be small, but it can add
                                                            up to a big water pollution
                                               problem that affects our whole island.


                                      Let's walk
                             around your farm,
                             and point out how
                               normal everyday
                                   activities can
                                           pollute
                                     our coastal

                                          waters.






                                                                                                    
 

									ALL THESE NAMES!
									POLLUTED RUNOFF
									  DIFFUSE SOURCE POLLUTION
									STORM WATER POLLUTION
									NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION


                                                      It can get confusing, that's why we picked one name
                                                      that covers it all:

                                                            NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION or "NIPS"

                                                      NPS comes from normal human activities and is not
                                                      limited to agriculture. NPS includes:

                                                                            ï¿½ pesticides
                                                                            ï¿½ fuels
                                                                            ï¿½ chemicals
                                                                            ï¿½ septic system overflows.
                                                                            ï¿½ fertilizer and animal waste
                                                                               (Too much can overload coastal
                                                                               waters with nutrients, causing
                                                                               them to Overgrow with algae.)



                                                      NPS pollution is not like other pollution in that only one
                                                      source causes a problem.

                                                      NIPS creates a problem when a number of individual
                                                                                                      WE=.














                                                      sources make small, mild contributions of pollutants.

                                                      It's called "Cumulative Impact."


                                PAGE, 4
 




                                                      WHAT'S THAT6.0


                              CUMULATIVE IMPACT is a formal term for the way
                                      little contributions add up to something BIG!






                                                                                        71






                                                      CA,



                                         We all enjoy the cumulative impact known
                                    as the fiesta. Everyone contributes a little, and
                                           the results can include the entire village.

                                            Not all cumulative effects are this good.
                                     Polluted storm water is a negative cumulative
                                                                               impact.

                                              Everyone contributes to this pollution.

                                                                      Yes, everyone.

                                                    So now it's time to ask yourself:

                                                           "What am/ contributing"?



                                                                                                PAGE 5





                            FARMING'POLLUTION


                                  1901111          Farmers have always known that soil can be very
                                             difficult to retain on site. Soil has to be tilled and
                                             weeded, so that the intended crops can grow, but
                                             loose soil is easily washed away by excess irrigation
                                             water and rain water. Our soils are somewhat delicate
                                             because of Guam's geology. The result is that any
                                             disturbance of ground cover lets soil move to the coast
                                             in the next rain.


                                                  The use of conservation tillage, where the soil is
                                             not cleared entirely of vegetable matter, is a way to
                                             protect soil from the force of a hard rain storm. Tilling
                                             and furrowing should cross slopes instead of going up
                                             and down. Keeping bare soil in place until vegetation is
                                             established can be easier if some areas are left
                                             untilled and grassy buffer strips are left in place.







                                                                                 -In


                                                                                            IX











                            IIIAGE 6





                                               FARMINGV POLLUTION-


                                  Pesticides are chemicals that are poisonous to a       2DM@,VMj(L'R)M3@
                             particular type of living organism. Unfortunately, pesti-
                             cides in large enough quantities can also be harmful to
                                                    humans. Pesticides, when used
                                                     properly, will not travel far from
                                                       where they were applied, but
                                                    excessive use of pesticides pro-
                              vides another opportunity for rain water to carry that
                                                       excess to our coastal waters.


                                    Animal waste creates pollution problems in two       AMIRRAH,
                             ways. First, the germs or bacteria that occur in animal     @%Tja(  fl,
                               waste can be very harmful to humans. Our drinking
                             water is treated to prevent these bacteria from living in
                             our drinking water, but our recreational waters become
                                 sources of illness. You've probably heard of beach
                                                     closings due to these bacteria.


                                        Another
                             problem is caused
                                  by nutrients.
                             Animal waste can
                                provide lots of
                             nitrogen, which is
                                why manure is
                             used as a fertilizer.
                             This nitrogen also
                             encourages growth


                                                                                                PAGE 7






                            FARMING POLLUTION



                                                in algae and other
                                                marine organisms.
                                                When algae grows
                                                faster than the sea
                                                life that eats it can
                                                keep up, real prob-
                                                   lems with algae
                                                 washing onto our
                                                   beaches occur.
                                                 When this algae decomposes, it is smelly and ugly,
                                                          reducing Guam's attractiveness to visitors.


                             ANIMAL                     Animal waste from your farm can be used in
                              WASTE               moderation on your land as a fertilizer. Soil tests
                                             should be used to determine if the animal waste would
                                             provide the nutrients that your plants really need.
                                             Excess nutrients just wash off or soak into the ground,
                                             where they get carried into our water lens.

                                                         COMPOSING TIP

                                               If you must
							     stockpile animal
							     waste, keep it
							     out of the rain.
							     cover manure
							     and keep it out
					                 of the way of the
                                               storm water.




                            PAGE 8
 




                                                FARMING' POLLUTION



                                        Grazing animals should get their water from
                                troughs. If they walk into a stream to drink, they will
                                usually wear down any
                              vegetation on the stream
                              bank and leave exposed
                              soil that will wash directly
                                  into the stream. T
                                                      he

                              stream also becomes th
                                                                                                 @V_
                               target for "bored animal
                              bombing runs" which are                    Af
                                    obvious pollutants.



                                      Dirt roads lose large amounts of soil from rain       MITT
                              water erosion and from soil that sticks to tires. A paved
                              road is best; a good coral road provides some protec-
                               tion, and reduces the
                              amount of soil tracked
                              onto our highways. Soil
                              that is carried onto the

                              street will indeed travel                 V,

                                 to the reefs. Where
                                  practical, having a
                                   wash off area for
                                vehicles at the point
                              where they move onto
                              paved roads can help.



                                                                                                    111AGOEs 9





                            IIEME"S HELP!


                                                    Rn this booklet, we have shown some of the
                                               more common ways that farming contributes to
                                               pollution. We hope that we've explained why we
                                               need your help and support and that you will want to
                                               make the simple changes that would really help
                                               protect the island's resources.


                                                    If you need more information about these
                                               practices, or for more general information on
                                               nonpoint pollution, there are lots of folks with infor-
                                               mation. You probably know most of them, and we
                                               promise you a warm welcome from all:


                                                   For general information on nonpoint pollution,
                                                  pesticides, and feedlot waste disposal, con-
                                                  tact the Guam Environmental Protection
                                                  Agency at 472-8863.

                                                  For help with planning your use of animal
                                                  wastes, fertilizer, and pesticides, contact the
                                                  Agricultural Experiment Station at the Univer-
                                                  sity of Guam College of Agriculture at
                                                  735-2134.


                                                  For help with planning your farm for resource
                                                  conservation, contact the Natural Resources
                                                  Conservation Service Guam Field Office at
                                                  735-2111/2/3. They can also help you contact
                                                  your local Resource Conservation District.





                            PAGE 10




















                                          This booklet is published by
                            THE GUAM COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM9
                                            funded by a grant from
                             the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management,
                                National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
                                          under grant NA570ZO356.










                                                      OOF



























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