That’s in addition to harmful bacteria and pathogens that wastewater from animal processing plants can contain, which sometimes find their way into the public water supply.
In a report released earlier this month, the Environmental Integrity Project, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, identified two processing plants operated in the region by Tyson Farms and Pilgrim’s Pride as particularly heavy polluters.
“This is just wrong.
It’s a public waterway, not a drainage ditch for a bunch of factories,” Schaffer said.
The EIP report found that in 2017, the Pilgrim’s Pride facility in Mount Pleasant pushed an average of 1,755 pounds of nitrogen each day into tributaries of Lake O’ the Pines, a popular fishing and boating destination that’s also a source of drinking water for several local communities, including Longview.
The plant’s state environmental permit shows that before the Pilgrim’s discharges ever reach Lake O’ the Pines, the polluted wastewater traverses tributaries that already have been deemed vulnerable by Texas’ environmental regulatory agency.
The discharges first flow through Tankersley Creek, which is “impaired” because of pathogens; they then run into Big Cypress Creek, which has a high bacteria load, before reaching the Lake O’ the Pines.
TCEQ has identified the Pilgrim’s Pride plant as the largest source of phosphorus and nitrogen in the Lake O’ the Pines watershed, contributing 88 percent and 73 percent of phosphorus and nitrogen loads, respectively.
The EIP report found that Tyson’s Center facility violated its Clean Water Act permit 12 times in 2016 and 2017, incurring an $80,000 state fine for effluent violations.
At the same time, the Clean Water Act, the landmark law that governs discharges of wastewater from processing plants, is under attack by the Trump administration, which this year sought to roll back the regulation.

The state doesn’t have a unified goal of reducing feral hog numbers, but it should, said John Tomecek, Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist.
The animals can carry diseases that can spread to livestock and people.
They also can contaminate water and destroy pastureland.
“In 2016, the states around us now have pigs,” he said.
“We had people coming to Texas, buying feral hogs and taking them over state lines and releasing them for hunting reasons.” In 2011, about 25,000 feral hogs were trapped, and this year, more than 35,000 hogs have been trapped, Tomecek said.
One sow has the capacity to produce 50 offspring in less than two years, and the animals don’t have many predators.
“I no longer have hay available to feed my stock; areas are damaged by pigs,” Tomecek said.
Kathryn Cargo reports on business and agriculture for the Victoria Advocate.
She may be reached at kcargo@vicad.com or 361-580-6328.
Follow her on twitter @kathryncargo.

Austin Water says it’s on track to lift the boil water notice on Sunday.
"We’re feeling really really positive about being able to target lifting the boil water notice on Sunday," said Greg Meszaros, Director of Austin Water.
Austin Water is in the process of gathering a water sample and testing it.
While the city waits for the results of the Austin Water sample, on Friday CBS Austin got the final report from our own water testing.
CBS Austin collected tap water in north and south Austin and tested it for bacteria that could make people sick.
After the boil eater notice was issued, Durel started boiling the water she uses to give little Corinne sponge baths.
"Dirt, that’s what I’ve heard it’s dirt and silt.
"That would be awesome," said Durel.
"Test it out.
Durel plans to keep boiling her water until the Boil Water Notice is lifted.

"We’re not concerned that there’s an unacceptable risk, but we agree that monitoring the data and monitoring the situation is very important," he said after the meeting.
The issue of PCB contamination seeped into public view again last month as members of the City Council reviewed recent sample data gathered from groundwater near Building 71 and Hill 78, two landfills near Allendale Elementary School that GE used to consolidate toxic chemicals during the company’s cleanup activities.
Tagliaferro addressed the city’s concerns, pointing to the data as he stated the contamination poses no immediate threat.
More samples are being collected in the coming weeks, and Council President Peter Marchetti said Thursday he suggests convening another meeting around the issue as those figures become available.
And he said average PCE and TCE concentrations from the 16 wells fall well below standards applicable to surface water standards.
But standards set for nearby buildings and their occupants are more relevant to the contamination — that is the benchmark against which recent samples showed elevated levels.
Still, samples that contained above-benchmark levels of PCE and TCE were not found near enough to occupied buildings to pose any established risk, he said.
He said his data also shows the groundwater in that area was contaminated before the landfills were created.
"PCBs are pretty ubiquitous, if you look at other areas of the country," he said.
"What’s the action plan?"

ALLEGAN COUNTY, Mich. — The Environmental Protection Agency is set to be in Allegan County next week in an effort to connect four homes to the municipal water supply after chromium contamination was found in the resident’s private drinking wells.
The EPA will begin the work on Oct. 29 to connect the affected homes to the city water main, located on Lincoln Road near 29th Street and Jeffrey Drive.
Work to remove foliage to prepare for the project began earlier this week.
The agency is set to cover costs for the residents experiencing contamination since "no party is responsible for the pollution."
The EPA also says neighboring residences may request to be connected to the municipal water supply at their own expense.
According to the EPA, residential drinking well testing between 2010 and 2017 at numerous locations near the Allegan Metal Finishing Company resulted in chromium concentrations that exceeded the maximum contaminant level of 100 micrograms per liter.
The largest concentration detected was around 22,000 micrograms per liter.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency sent revised PolyMet air and water quality permits to the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday.
While not a final decision of the PCA, it represents progress for the company’s proposed copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes.
In a news release, the agency cited changes it made to the permits in response to public comments.
"The air and water pollution permits submitted to EPA today are based on a financially impossible version of the PolyMet proposal," said Lee in the press release.
"PolyMet’s own financial study shows that PolyMet’s real plan is to build a mega-mine that mines four times as fast.
Aaron Klemz, the director of public engagement for the center said PolyMet’s new plan, which was submitted in March "changed the way they would do mining operations."
This is the penultimate step before a final decision on the permits will be made.
The air and water permits are two of more than 20 that PolyMet needs before it can begin construction.
One of those includes a wetlands replacement permit, a water appropriations permit, and permit to mine from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which is still pending.
Trout-snuffing ‘rock snot’ confirmed in North Shore stream Grand Opening for Superior Street scheduled Trump approves funding for Soo

The new device can detect legionella in drinking water in less than two hours A new fully automated testing device aims to provide reliable results testing for legionella contamination in less than two hours.
Released by Biotica, the device called Legipid uses immunomagnetic separation (IMS) by anti-legionella immuno-modified magnetic beads to provide faster detection of legionella bacteria.
“It is generally recognized that the main analytical issue is to separate the target from the rest of the sample,” said Inma Solis, CEO of Biotica.
“Magnetic immuno-beads provide such separation and Legipid combines it with an enzyme-linked colorimetric detection for a rapid 1h test to determine legionella sp.
Concentrations in water samples.” Other existing methods to detect legionella in drinking water includes culture-based techniques, which can lead to contamination due to overgrowing competing microbiota, and polymerase chain reaction techniques, which enumerates DNA of both live and dead cells, as reported by Phys.org.
However, with magnetic immuno-beads a suspension of legionella binding magnetic beads is added to the water sample, causing legionella cells present to bind to antibodies on the surface of the beads.
These then are incubated with enzyme-conjugated anti-legionella antibodies and can be visualized by colorimetric reaction when enzymes are added.
"The Ulisens method is a more reliable option for routine testing, particularly in the analysis of water samples with high levels of contamination," Solis said.
"Automatic legionella detection eliminates human errors inherent in the manual methods."
This new method is designed for control systems at potentially hazardous facilities, and hopes to expand soon into the commercial sector and swimming pools with a potentially portable version.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) – The U.S. Navy unveiled proposed solutions to give Chesapeake residents living near Fentress Air Field safe drinking water.
The Navy has been providing free bottled water to affected residents for a couple of years.
It could still be a while before the affected residents can drink their own water, but there are a few solutions on the table and officials want to hear from the community before a decision is made.
U.S. Navy officials said there are three solutions proposed to help residents affected by the PFAS (poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances) contamination near Fentress.
One: The Navy could continue to provide bottled water for residents who have PFAS levels higher than the EPA’s health standards.
The Navy has been supplying bottled water since the contamination was first detected.
Three: The City of Chesapeake could run a water pipeline out to the affected residents.
Chad Vincelatte, Commanding Officer for Naval Air Station Oceana.
"This is the second meeting I’ve come to, I think they’re doing their best to inform and there are plenty of people there that were informed to answer questions,” Becky Woodall said.
A public comment period is open through November 7.

Steve Heaslip/Cape Cod Times @Cmccormickcct HYANNIS — A new federally funded study by the Silent Spring Institute will test the blood of dozens of young children from the Hyannis area for health effects from exposure to contaminated drinking water.
Levels of the contaminants above the Environmental Protection Agency’s health advisory threshold in the Hyannis water system triggered temporary public health advisories twice since 2015.
The PFAS-REACH project will collect and analyze blood from 60 children from Hyannis, as well as 60 children from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which Silent Spring officials said has also been affected by drinking water contaminated with PFAS from firefighting foams.
“It’s new to us to reach out to young parents specifically,” Schaider said.
The study, in which Northeastern University and Michigan State University are also participating, will look at whether children with higher levels of PFAS are more likely to have impaired responses to immunization and whether they have a different biological or inflammatory profile than children with lower PFAS levels, Schaider said.
Researchers will specifically examine antibody levels in response to diphtheria and tetanus vaccinations one month after children’s final DTaP boosters, Schaider said.
Children are eligible to participate in the study if they lived in or attended day care in Hyannis for at least one year prior to May 2016 or if their mothers lived in Hyannis for at least one year before May 2016, Schaider said.
Children with higher level PFAS “seem to have an impaired immune system,” Schaider said.
The goal during the course of the five-year study is to test a total of 250 Cape wells for 20 chemicals, as well as nitrate and boron.
Thousands of chemicals and polymers belong to the PFAS family, which are known as “forever chemicals” for their persistence in soil and water, Schaider said.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler declared a local state of disaster Thursday as the city continues to grapple with flood damage and a contaminated water system.
Weeks of extended rainfall have set off a damaging chain reaction in the Central Texas region.
The disaster declaration signed by the mayor on Thursday highlights the damage set off by the floods and says it will likely continue into the “foreseeable future” and requires emergency action.
Travis County and the State of Texas have also signed disaster declarations for the area.
In a tweet sent out Thursday, Adler said the declaration is necessary for help with reimbursement of damage and procurement of assistance.
Water quality and reserves are improving!
In the meantime, I’ve declared a local state of disaster https://t.co/RX2ZzpflMn necessary to help with reimbursement & procurement.
— Mayor Adler (@MayorAdler) October 25, 2018 Adler said signing the disaster declaration could help in getting federal funding, as well as allows the city to go out and immediately procure resources, such as water, by circumventing what is typically a lengthy procurement process.
The most important message, Adler said, is that the city needs to continue conserving water.
Should conservation efforts continue, Adler said he expected the city to lift the boil water notice by the “late weekend.” Read the full disaster declaration here.