A procedure to eliminate Escherichia coli in dairy cattle manure was develo
ped. E. coli persisted in fresh manure and farm storage tanks, and viable c
ounts ranged from 10(5) to 10(8)/g. If the feces to urine ratio of fresh ma
nure was decreased from 2.2 to 1, E. coli did not persist for greater than
or equal to 10 days (<10 viable cells/g), and it appeared that the urine wa
s killing E. coli. Fecal urease contamination produced CO2, and 16% was tra
pped as carbonate. When urine pH was decreased, antimicrobial effect was lo
st, even if the pH was readjusted to 8.5. When E. coli K-12 and O157:H7 wer
e treated with Na2CO3 (100 mM, pH 8.5, 24 h), viable cells were not detecte
d. The E. coli count of manure (feces to urine ratio of 2.2:1) was decrease
d by Na2CO3 addition (8 g/kg), but pH sometimes declined and carbonate was
lost. When NaOH was included (2 g/kg), Na2CO3 additions could be decreased
(4 g/kg), and treatment time was 5 days. Treatment cost could be <$10 year(
-1) (dairy cow)(-1). Water dilution (3-fold) did not diminish the effective
ness of the carbonate/alkali treatment, and viability was <10 cells/g.