Full Description

This paper provides a summary of the nitrate occurrence in water resources. The author concludes that nitrates are most likely to occur in areas of the US with heavy agricultural activity, such as in the cornbelt states of Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. The USEPA nitrate maximum contaminant level (MCL) violation database showed that utilities using groundwaters in these areas are more likely to have nitrate problems than those using surface waters. These data also show that the highest number of MCL violations occurred with the very small systems with 49 percent of the violations occurring with systems serving less than 100 people and 80 percent serving less than 500 people. Only six large systems serving more than 100,000 people reported nitrates above the MCL; four using groundwaters and two using surface water. And finally, the level of nitrates in finished water is predominate in the 10-14 mg/L range (62%). In general, surface waters have lower nitrate concentrations than groundwaters.

Product Details

Published: 01/01/1995 ISBN(s): 0898678331 Number of Pages: 8File Size: 1 file , 330 KB