Concerned citizens,
This is disturbing. These are the same people who propose to build an 8,000 acre, 5,130 cow dairy CAFO in Saratoga. They indicate the Saratoga CAFO will be based upon the Central Sands CAFO they already own in Armenia, just across the Petenwell from us. Why is this disturbing? Nitrate is a form of nitrogen that, if greater than 10Mg/l in drinking water, can dangerously reduce the amount of oxygen in the blood of infants under six months old (blue baby syndrome) and may also harm the unborn. Experts say that neither babies nor the elderly should drink or bathe in water having nitrates greater that 10 Mg/l – the DNR enforcement level. Nitrate is a common contaminant from fertilizers, septic systems and animal wastes.
The attached test results from monitoring wells around the CAFO in Armenia show nitrate readings as high as 62.5 Mg/l – that’s over 6 times the DNR allowable level. Armenia is a rural, farming area with only a few residences around the CAFO, so the effects are felt by just a few. Compare that to the Rome and Saratoga area where hundreds of residents are right next door to the planned CAFO, and nearly 1500 resident private drinking water wells (most of them in Rome) are within the cone of depression of the planned high cap wells. So, not only are our wells at risk of nitrate contamination, our water levels may drop as well.
If you’ve been silent regarding this issue, you may want to rethink your priorities where this proposed CAFO is concerned. Once it’s here, you won’t stop it. Keep up on this issue through the following and take action when asked to do so. Your future depends on it.
Protect Wood County & Its Neighbors 