Dog waste is a major pollutant and contaminant of the water supply. It is a serious health issue. In fact, it is estimated that 1/3 of all water contamination is a result of dog waste run off entering streams and leaching into the underground water supply. The average dog can produce 274 pounds of waste each year. Disease from dog waste can spread to other dogs, children, and adults.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deemed dog waste a “nonpoint source of pollution” in 1991, which puts dog waste in the same category as oil spills and toxic chemicals. A single gram of dog waste can contain 23 million fecal coliform bacteria, which are known to cause cramps, diarrhea, intestinal illness, and serious kidney disorders in humans. The EPA estimates that two or three days’ worth of waste from just 100 dogs would contribute enough bacteria to temporarily close a bay, and all watershed areas within 20 miles of it, to swimming and shell fishing.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), dog waste can contribute to diseases that animals pass to humans, called zoonoses. When infected waste is deposited on the ground, the eggs of certain roundworms and other parasites can linger in the soil for years. Anyone, especially dogs, who comes into contact with that soil, be it through gardening, playing sports, walking barefoot or any other means, runs the risk of coming into contact with the eggs.
Some of the hard-to-pronounce parasites that waste could harbor include Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Salmonella, as well as hookworms, ringworms, and tapeworms. Infections from these bugs often cause fever, muscle aches, headache, vomiting, and diarrhea in humans. Children are most susceptible since they often play in the dirt and put objects and fingers in their mouth or eyes.
(The Original Guide To Professional Dog Waste Management – Dog Waste Depot)