How Does Hog Farming Play a Role in Groundwater Contamination?

Question

How does it play a role besides the hogs destroying the vegetation off the land and removing a filter to the groundwater?

Answer 1

Hogs also deposit wastes on the ground, which will run off into local streams or rivers and contaminate the groundwater.

The amount of waste is surprising - to make money, most hog farms cram in as many pigs as they can, and feed them lots of food to get them to grow as quickly as possible. Sometimes the food has hormones to promote growth and antibiotics, so the pollution can be even more problematic.

Answer 2

If a hog is eating grass, it decreases interception by the grass and also evapotranspiration. Increasing surface run-off, which weathers the ground.

Also the farmer is probably ploughing it, also increasing surface runoff.

Then the farmer will use pesticides and/or fertilisers. This will seep through into rivers or lakes, causing denitrification which causes algae to bloom.