Abstract
This paper summarizes research evaluating nitrate levels in shallow groundwater of upstate New York, USA. Water from abandoned dug wells in six different land-use categories was analyzed for nitrate. Findings indicate that regardless of overlying land-use, shallow groundwater is susceptible to high levels of nitrate. Over 60 percent of the water samples tested, including at least one sample from each land-use category, had nitrate levels in excess of the United States drinking water standard of 10 mg 1−1. Due to the potential threat of elevated nitrate levels, efforts should be made to eliminate abandoned dug wells in shallow groundwater as a source of water supply.
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Glenn Harris is with the Environmental Studies Programme of St Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Brian Henry is with the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Jeffrey Deyette is with the joint International Relations and Resource and Environmental Management Programme at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. This research was performed as a Community Service Project sponsored by the Mergardt Fund while Mr Henry and Mr Deyette were students under the supervision of Dr Harris at St Lawrence University.
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Harris, G.R., Henry, B.D. & Deyette, J.S. Nitrate levels in shallow groundwater of upstate New York, USA. Environmentalist 16, 307–311 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02239657
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02239657