Agricultural wastewater is water produced from farming activities, including fertilizer, pesticides, animal slurry, crop residues, or irrigation water. Waste collected from confined animal production (milk, eggs, meats) requires special handling and protection from events like excessive rainfall because uncontrolled runoff often contains resistant microorganisms capable of causing severe disease in humans.
Whatever the source, wastewater should never be released into surface or groundwater before treatment. Still, even when processes and equipment are in place for treatment, reliable containment of wastewater before and during the process presents a host of challenges.