Poultry processors in the United States slaughtered more than 4.6 billion broilers in 1986. Assuming that the average plant used 7 gallons of water to process each bird, 1986 water usage by the broiler industry totalled more than 32 billion gallons.

Some plants have cut water consumption and now use less than 4 gallons per bird. If all broiler plants reduced water usage to that level, the industry would save about 14 billion gallons annually, enough for a city of 100,000 people.

The wastewater from broiler plants contains many potential pollutants. In terms of biochemical oxygen demand (BO D5), the waste load of many plants is 65 pounds or more per thousand broilers. If the average plant discharges that much BO D5, the annual load from the broiler processing industry totals almost 300 million pounds—about as much as is produced by a city of 51/2 million people.

Some plants discharge as little as 30 pounds of BOD5 per thousand broilers. If plants reduced their discharge to that level, about 160 million pounds of BOD5 per year could be eliminated.

At typical water prices, cutting water use from 7 gallons to 4 gallons per bird would save about $5.70 per thousand broilers processed. Reducing the waste load from 65 pounds of BOD5 to 30 pounds would save another $7.00 per thousand broilers. Considering the 4.6 billion birds processed each year, here's how those savings add up for the industry as a whole:

Total annual savings ................... $58.420,000*

As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tightens restrictions on the quality of water consumed and wastewater released into the environment, water costs will probably rise even more rapidly than in the past.

Water conservation and waste reduction are becoming much more important because:

• • Water costs and sewer cnarges are on the rise;
• • Water quality and availability are threatened by increased consumption and pollution in many areas;
• • Pollution is being aggressively atacked by public agencies and the public at large;
• • Future regulations will require water conservation and elimination of pollutant discharges;
• • A corporation's image can be tnished and its sales hurt if its plants are perceived as harming the environment.
• • Enforcement actions are becoing more severe and may involve not only lawsuits and fines but even prison terms.

• • Have your plants experienced a rapid rise in water and sewer charges?
• How much could you save by reducing water use from its present level to 4 gallons per broiler? How much could be saved by cutting BOD5 discharges to 30 pounds per thousand broilers?
• Do you supply your own water at some plants? How much does this water cost? Is the supply dependable? How is the quality? How will these factors affect future expansion?
• If you treat your plants' wastewater or pretreat it, have you computed what this treatment costs, including proper sludge disposal?

• • Ensure that plant managers measure water use daily or at each shift change.
• • Emphasize to personnel at all levels that conserving water and reducing waste load are sound business practices.
• • Appoint someone in each plant to be responsible for water conservation and waste reduction practices and for monitoring their effectiveness.
• • Provide a training program for your managers and employees.
• • Show by your interest and example that you take water conservation and waste reduction seriously. Helping your personnel develop the proper attitude is 90 percent of the battle. It starts at the top.

For copies of these and other publications in this series, call your county Extension agent or write to Food Science Extension, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7624, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7624.

This publication was supported in part by the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology in cooperation with tbe North Carolina Pollution Prevention Pays Program.