Using GIS and remote sensing to locate cattle-dipping vats in Alachua County, Florida
2004
Todd, W.R. | Mishoe, J.W. | French, B.T.
Between 1910 and 1961, over 3500 cattle-dipping vats were constructed in the State of Florida to combat the Southern and Tropical Cattle Tick (Boophilus annulatus and Boophilus microplus) for the control of Southern Cattle Fever (Piroplasmosis). During this period, arsenic, DDT, BHC, Delnav, and Toxaphene were used as pesticides in the dipping vats. The dipping process exposed the surrounding area to these chemicals creating the potential for soil and groundwater contamination. Therefore, preventing human exposure to, and groundwater contamination from, these chemicals is reliant of identifying and testing the dipping vat sites. Since most former dipping vat locations are presently unknown and most dipping vats have been destroyed, an indirect method must be developed to locate the former vat sites. For the study area, Alachua County, Florida, property tax records from 1915 to 1950 were used to narrow the possible locations of the vats. The names of the dipping vats were matched with former property owners recorded in the tax records. Identified properties were mapped into a GIS data layer of Alachua County. Additional potential dipping vat locations, including railroad depots and livestock markets, were also mapped into a GIS layer. Using 1954-1957 USDA aerial photographs of Alachua County, aerial photographic evidence of known dipping vats was examined and compared to that of the suspect areas. Using this method, 10 cattle-dipping vats were identified on the aerial photographs. The area of probable location was identified for another seven cattle-dipping vats, but identification of these dipping vats on aerial photographs was not possible.
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