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University of Wyoming

 

 

Water Quality for
Wyoming Livestock
and Wildlife

A review of the literature pertaining to the health
effects of inorganic contaminants

M. F. Raisbeck DVM, PhD, DABVT,
S.L Riker BS,
C.M. Tate DVM, PhD,
R. Jackson PhD,
M.A. Smith PhD,
K.J. Reddy PhD,
J.R. Zygmunt BS







                Click cover for entire publication       

Introduction

Abbreviations
Element Short Exposure Chronic Exposure Rationale
Arsenic
(Summary)		 1 mg/L 1 mg/L Does not seem to be a carcinogen in livestock; therefore, a concentration that protects against cytotoxic effects should be safe (pg 8).
Barium
(Summary)		 No recommendation No recommendation Until there is better data we cannot make any firm recommendation regarding Barium. See text for interim suggestions (pg 13).
Fluoride
(Summary)		 2 mg/L 2 mg/L Prevents dental lesions in most sensitive life stage. Fully mature animals may be able to tolerate more (pg 18).
Molybdenum
(Summary)		 0.3 mg/L 0.3 mg/L Prevents secondary Cu deficiency and poor performance (pg 24).
Nitrate
(Summary)		 500 mg/L 500 mg/L Prevents acute death and abortion in well-man-aged cattle. Dry diets high in NO3 may require lower concentrations (pg 28)..
Nitrite
(Summary)		 100 mg/L 100 mg/L Prevents acute death and abortion in well-man-aged cattle. Dry diets high in NO3 may require lower concentrations (pg 28).
pH
(Summary)		 No recommendation No recommendation There is considerable evidence that animals toler-ate a much wider range than the commonly cited 6.5-8.5, but we could not find sufficient informa-tion to make specific recommendations (pg 32).
Selenium
(Summary)		 0.1 mg/L 0.1 mg/L Prevents selenosis in equidae. Can probably tolerate slightly high concentrations for very short periods (pg 38)
Sodium
(Summary)		 4000 mg/L 1000 mg/L Assuming normal feedstuff Na concentration and no other water sources, these concentrations should protect against acute lethality or chroni-cally, poor performance (pg 43).
Sulfate
(Summary)		 1800 mg/L 1000 mg/L Assuming normal feedstuff S concentration, acute death may occur in ruminants at concentrations greater than 2,000, especially if not allowed time to acclimate. Long-term consumption result in poor performance (pg 47).
TDS
(Summary)		 No recommendation No recommendation We do not recommend relying upon TDS to evaluate water quality for livestock and wildlife (pg 50).

Here are recommendations from other agencies for elements that we did not research,
but still felt were important...

Element

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Primary Standards (Human)

Australia and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC)

Canadian Livestock and Water Quality Guidelines

Beryllium

0.004 mg/L

N/A

0.1 mg/L

Boron

N/A

5 mg/L

5 mg/L

Cadmium

0.005 mg/L

0.01 mg/L

0.02 mg/L

Chloride

N/A

N/A

15,000 mg/L

Chromium

0.1 mg/L

1 mg/L

1 mg/L

Cobalt

N/A

1 mg/L

1 mg/L

Copper

N/A

0.5 mg/L

0.5-5 mg/L

Iron

N/A

N/A

0.3 mg/L

Lead

0.015 mg/L

0.1 mg/L

0.1 mg/L

Magnesium

N/A

N/A

6,000 mg/L

Manganese

N/A

N/A

0.05 mg/L

Mercury

0.002 mg/L

0.002 mg/L

0.003 mg/L

Uranium

N/A

0.2 mg/L

0.2 mg/L

Acknowledgements

Bibliography

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