Nebraska Takes on Nitrate Challenges

By: Duane Craig

Farmers and residents in the area of York, Nebraska met recently to discuss the elevating levels of nitrates being found in groundwater, according to this report. To date, 17 communities have had one or more administrative orders on their municipal water supplies for elevated nitrate levels. Nitrate levels in large areas of Nebraska exceed the 10 ppm threshold. Not only that, levels are continuing to escalate.

Elevating levels of nitrates have been expected for at least a decade, even with drastic reductions in the amount of nitrogen that farmers are using to grow crops. That’s because decades of extremely heavy fertilizer applications have loaded the soils with nitrates that continue to work their way into water supplies. Besides being more specific in the timing of nitrogen applications, changes to existing rules would trigger new management levels at increasingly lower nitrate levels. Some of the public water supplies being affected include those of York, Seward, Utica, Polk, Osceola, Gresham, Henderson, Exeter and nine others.

Iowa Community Considers Trading Wells for Community Water

By: Duane Craig


Hills, Iowa residents who are in the path of an expanding underground plume of perchlorate are bracing for the day when they might be told their wells are contaminated with the chemical, according to this article.

Up to now, about 30 homes have been fitted with reverse osmosis water treatment systems to purify their well water, but the plume is on the move and is expected to affect even more homes, according to an official with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

But any new water well contamination will be met with two choices - drill a new well and hope it doesn’t come up contaminated, or vote for the installation of a municipal water system. People in the community have their own wells and only pay the cost of pumping the water. But, if a municipal system is set up, then the estimated monthly bill for 4,000 gallons is expected to be about $50, and everyone will be required to hook up.

The community, though, already has another water problem - nitrates. Voters decided against a municipal water system proposed in 2007 to address the issue. But now, there is $4.63 million available from the Environmental Protection Agency to address the nitrate problem, and $1.9 million of that is a forgivable loan with a low interest rate.

There are residents who were against the water system in 2007, that no longer are, mainly because of the newly available money and the potential for attracting new businesses because of having municipal water.

CA's Hilmar Cheese Co. Polluted Wells, Reports Show

September 26, 2010 - Hilmar Cheese Co., one of the world's largest cheese producers, is responsible for spoiling neighbors' drinking water wells, new documents show.

For two decades, the cheese factory midway between Sacramento and Fresno has battled state pollution regulators, and this year it won permission to increase the amount of salty, mineral-rich wastewater dumped on surrounding fields.

Now, much of the well water isn't fit to drink. State officials say the company is the likely culprit in ruining at least 18 wells in and around Hilmar. High in nitrates, arsenic, barium and salts, the well water tastes bad and violates federal health standards.

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Clear AZ Water Could Still Be Contaminated

September 15, 2010 - Even if tap water is clear, there is a significant chance that it could harbor dangerous — sometimes even deadly — contaminants.

Members of the Gila Watershed Partnership learned about contaminated wells and their threats to the health of people who depend on them during a Sept. 8 meeting. Kristine Uhl-man, program coordinator of the University of Arizona’s Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials, known as NEMO, talked about several contaminants and the importance of testing private wells yearly.

Uhlman said 10 percent to 42 percent of water taps are contaminated with viruses, and 95 percent of small groundwater wells violate one or more of the nation’s drinking water standards.

There are 7,014 drinking water wells in Arizona. These are at risk of contamination from nitrates, fluoride, uranium, arsenic and other substances.

Nitrates come from several sources, including fecal matter, fertilizer and natural occurrence in the soil. The chances for well contamination in Arizona are elevated because not enough rain falls to dilute and disperse the contaminants.

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