San Francisco: Cattle Grazing, Reservoirs, and Cryptosporidiosis

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is considering a measure that would end its practice of allowing cattle to graze in San Francisco's watershed. The Commission is concerned that the cattle put San Francisco's water supply at risk of contamination with CRYPTOSPORIDIUM, a parasite that can kill people with AIDS and other immune disorders. According to the University of California, 40-60 percent ofthe state's rangeland cattle herds are infected with the parasite.

The Commission's concern stems from the fact that many public health officials, including Milwaukee's epidemiologist, have linked cattle feces to the 1993 Milwaukee CRYPTOSPORIDIUM outbreak which made 403,000 people ill and killed more than 100. Health officials have also linked cattle feces to a more recent outbreak in British Columbia, Canada.

San Francisco newspaper coverage so far suggests that there has been little representation from the AIDS community. The Commission has heard mainly from opponents of the grazing ban-- ranchers, the California Cattlemen's Association (which is concerned about setting a precedent for banning grazing on utility-district lands throughout the state), and the California Department of Forestry and the East Bay Regional Park District, which are concerned about increasing fire-control costs without the cattle to keep down the grass andbrush. (See stories in the SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER Feb. 26 page A5, the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE Feb. 26 page A15, the SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER Feb. 24 page A1, and a longer article in the SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER Feb. 16, page C1.)

The Commission has postponed its vote on this issue until May 12. There are efforts to develop a compromise which would protect public health and also consider agricultural interests. People wishing to contact the Commission should contact Commission secretary Romaine Boldridge at (415)554-3155, or by fax at (415)554-3161 or by mail at 1155 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94103.

[Note: Rob Sabados is the author of CRYPTOSPORIDIUM: CURRENT ISSUES IN BIOLOGY, LAW, MEDICINE, AND WATER QUALITY,published by Act Up/Golden Gate; see AIDS TREATMENT NEWS issue #238, January 5, 1996.]