Your water is in danger.

The two new dairy farms in Moody County combined will produce more waste each and every day than the entire city of Sioux Falls.

However, feedlots don’t have to treat their waste the way cities do. Those downstream must take the risk. Sioux Falls is downstream.

Dairy proponents say they meet South Dakota regulations. But look at those regulations. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) only requires a manure lagoon be built to withstand a 25 years water event. That's a 4 inch flood. It happens somewhere in the I-29 Corridor each year. In the event of a 25 year rain event, the dairy feedlots are allowed to flush all their waste downstream without penalty.

Liquid manure lagoons also seep. They often leak. They have spills. What looks good on paper doesn't always work out in real life. Giant dairy feedlot promoters say there's nothing to fear.

Do you want to take the risk?

Too Many Nutrients = Pollution

Concentrated feedlots or dairies can rather quickly overwhelm a watershed with coliform and nutrients. Too many nutrients become pollution growing too much vegetation choking the system and depleting oxygen.

Accelerating this in our river and lakes takes only 1/100th of the phosphorus levels needed for soil plant growth. One pound of phosphorus will grow 500 pounds of algae.

Who Gets Water During a Drought?

A milk cow will drink 45 gallons of water per day. 120,000 milk cows will drink 5.4 million gallons of water per day. Thirty percent of the population of SD takes its drinking water from the Big Sioux River and its Aquifers.

The proposed milk cows will be taking much of our drinking water, and during dry years could cause shortages in the I-29 corridor.