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<TITLE>Water Testing for Nitrates</TITLE>
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<P ALIGN="center">What&#146;s FREE with no strings attached these days?<BR>
<B><FONT SIZE="+2">A drinking water test for nitrate!</FONT></B>
<FONT SIZE="+1"></FONT><BR>
It&#146;s not a million dollars but valuable information nonetheless!</P>
<P ALIGN="center"><FONT SIZE="+1" COLOR="Blue">No matter what type of well you have . . .</FONT></P>
<CENTER><TABLE BORDER="10" CELLPADDING="10" ALIGN="center" WIDTH="100%">
<TR>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER"><IMG BORDER="2" SRC="well1.jpg"></TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER"><IMG BORDER="2" SRC="well2.jpg"></TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER"><IMG BORDER="2" SRC="well5.jpg"></TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER"><IMG BORDER="2" SRC="well4.jpg"></TD>
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</TABLE></CENTER>
<P ALIGN="right"> <FONT SIZE="-2">Photos courtesy of MN Department of Health</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN="center"><FONT SIZE="+1" COLOR="Blue">. . . if you can draw water from it - we can test it!</FONT></P>
<P>This free service is made possible by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture&#146;s Nitrate Water Testing Program. The Minnesota Environment and Natural Resource Trust Fund granted 75% of the funding during 1997-1999. The program is administered in the majority of Minnesota&#146;s counties and testing clinics are scheduled throughout the year. If the county of your residence is not sponsoring a clinic, you are welcome to attend any clinic in any county. </P>
<P>You can view the 1999 schedule either by <B><A HREF="cntymap.htm">county/region</A></B> or by <B><A HREF="bymonth.htm">month/date</A></B>. The schedule is updated twice weekly. Dates, times, and locations are subject to change. Before attending a clinic, check the schedule a few days prior to the clinic you are interested in. </P>
<P>Nitrate is a common contaminant found in many wells throughout Minnesota. Shallow wells, dug wells, and wells with damaged or leaking casings are the most vulnerable to nitrate contamination. Major sources of nitrate contamination can be from fertilizers, animal waste, and human sewage. It is highly recommended to test your drinking water supply on an annual basis. </P>
<P>Elevated levels of nitrate in drinking water can cause Blue Baby Syndrome in infants under six months of age and are bottle fed. Long term health effects to older children and normal healthy adults exposed to elevated levels of nitrate in their drinking water are not yet known or agreed upon in the scientific community. However, the National Cancer Institute suggests a link between elevated levels of nitrate in drinking water and an increased risk of non-Hodgkin&#146;s lymphoma (a cancer of the lymphatic system). The study is titled &#147;Drinking water nitrate and the risk of non-Hodgkin&#146;s lymphoma.&#148; Authors are M.H. Ward, Mark, K.P. Cantor, D.D. Weisenburger, A. Correa-Villasenor, and S.H. Zahm. Epidemiology, September 1996.</P>
<P><B>Details of the Nitrate Water Testing Program</B></P>
<P>In 1993, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture developed a &#147;walk-in&#148; style of water testing clinic with the goal of increasing public awareness of nitrates in rural drinking and livestock water supplies. Results from the testing not only educate the participants but may also provide some broad information on the occurrence of nitrate &#145;hotspots&#146; across the state; this could eventually aid in justifying nitrate monitoring networks/programs. The clinic concept revolves around a number of simple principles: local participation is critical; testing is free to the public with immediate results; the overall program needs to be inexpensive; a non-regulatory atmosphere is important and wellowners may remain anonymous; and the staff&#146;s most important goal is to provide the required technical assistance across a diverse audience of wellowners.</P>
<P>Since conception of the program six years ago, the Nitrate Water Testing Program has provided testing services and educational outreach to over 16,000 wellowners. The concept has proven adaptable for county fairs, field day events, public school programs, and &#145;stand alone&#146; events. Past sponsors have been the Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Minnesota Extension Service Educators, county health or environmental health services, county planning and zoning, public schools, lake associations, and farm organizations. Well inspectors and hydrologists from the Minnesota Department of Health are often present at the clinics to help answer well construction and health concern type problems.</P>
<P><B>How do I get my water tested and how long will it take?</B></P>
<P>Plan to attend one of the scheduled clinics in your area. Prior to coming to the clinic, run your cold tap for three minutes then collect about one cup of water in a plastic baggie or clean jar. Keep the water cool until arrival at the clinic. You can collect the water anytime within one day of the clinic (if you are coming to the clinic right after work, you can collect the sample in the morning and keep it cool all day until the clinic). </P>
<P>Once you&#146;ve arrived at the clinic you will submit your sample, usually wait about five minutes, and receive the results on-the-spot. If the clinic is extremely busy, the wait may extend to about ten minutes. </P>
<P><B>Do I have to give out any personal information to receive a free test?</B></P>
<P>No. However, we do ask if you would fill out a <U>voluntary</U> survey but it is not required. Over the years, the program has gained valuable information linking well characteristics and nitrate concentrations. Based on approximately 9700 surveys (1995-98 data), the following observations are worth noting: </P>
<UL>
<LI>Sixteen percent of the sand point wells (representing 26% of all wells tested) and 40% of all dug wells (representing only 3% of the total) exceeded the health standard of 10ppm NO<SUB>3</SUB>-N. Drilled wells represented 71% of the well construction types and 9% of these exceeded the health standard.</LI>
</UL>
<UL>
<LI><B></B>Age of the wells were also highly correlated with nitrate levels. The number of wells exceeding the health standard in the age categories of 0-10, 11-20, 21-50, and greater than 50 years old were 6, 9, 13, and 27%, respectively. </LI>
</UL>
<P><B>Can I have more than one sample tested?</B></P>
<P>Yes. Extra samples are free too. You are encouraged to test all the wells on your property (house, barn, irrigation, etc.). Also, you may collect neighbors or relatives samples and bring them in for analysis. If you have a water treatment unit that reduces or removes nitrate-nitrogen such as a reverse osmosis unit or a distiller, feel free to collect a sample before treatment and after treatment to ensure the treatment system is working properly. It is not necessary to collect a sample from before and after a water softener. A softener does not reduce nitrate and the nitrate result will be the same before and after treatment. </P>
<P><B>Do I have to live in the county that&#146;s sponsoring a clinic to test my water?</B></P>
<P>No. This is a statewide program. You can participate in any county&#146;s clinic you choose. </P>
<P><B>What if I find nitrate in my drinking water?</B></P>
<P>If the level of nitrate is between 0ppm to 10ppm NO<SUB>3</SUB>-N it is considered safe for nitrate by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Minnesota Department of Health. If the sample has a nitrate concentration above 10ppm NO<SUB>3</SUB>-N, it is critical that infants six months and younger do not drink this water in any form. Also, you should have your water re-tested at a <B><A HREF="labmap.htm">certified water </A></B><A HREF="labmap.htm"><B>testing laboratory</B></A><B></B>. </P>
<P>Options for wellowners to reduce or remove nitrate vary depending upon type, age, and location of well. Drinking bottled water may be a good short term solution. In an effort to figure out why you may have nitrate in your water supply, do some investigating. Look at your well record from when it was installed (your county will have this info.). Is your well fairly old? Does your well have construction problems? Is it a sand point, or shallow, or hand dug? These well characteristics tend to commonly plague the owner with contamination problems. If you have concerns about your private well water, contact your local health department, or a licensed well contractor, or your nearest Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) district office. The following is a list of the MDH district offices:</P>
<CENTER><TABLE BORDER="0" ALIGN="center" WIDTH="75%">
<TR>
<TD>Bemidji (218) 755-3820</TD>
<TD>Fergus Falls (218) 739-7585</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD>Duluth (218) 723-4642</TD>
<TD>Marshall (507) 537-7151</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD>St. Cloud (320) 255-4216</TD>
<TD>Rochester (507) 285-7289</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD>St. Paul (651) 215-0811</TD>
<TD></TD>
</TR>
</TABLE></CENTER>
<P> There are water treatment units than can reduce the level of nitrate in your drinking water. However, they are an investment in both money and maintenance. Reverse osmosis, distillation, and ion exchange will reduce levels of nitrate significantly if the units are maintained properly. Keep in mind that these units can stop working at anytime without your knowledge so test your water at least every year, if not twice yearly to ensure it&#146;s working properly. Treatment units typically cost anywhere from $400 (for just your tap water which may be all you need) to thousands of dollars (for household-wide treatment). </P>
<P>Annually test your water for both nitrate and bacteria. Keep a running record of all water tests performed from year to year in a file. Tracking increasing or decreasing nitrate levels through time is an excellent research tool. </P>
<P><B>Should I test my water for anything else?</B></P>
<P>Yes. The other major contaminant to test for annually is bacteria. You can have this done at a certified water testing laboratory. The cost for a bacteria test will range from $7.00 to $20.00. Contact a<B> </B><B><A HREF="labmap.htm">certified water testing lab</A></B> in your area to get a bacteria test kit. </P>
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