Sources of Nitrate in Ground Water in a Sewered Housing Development, Central Long Island, New York

Nitrate concentrations in ground water on Long Island, New York, have increased markedly in the last 30 years. A significant amount of this increase has been attributed to lawn and garden fertilizers in addition to cesspool and septic-tank discharges. The increase in nitrate concentration is of particular concern in the central and eastern part of the island, where ground water is the sole source of drinking water. Ground-water samples were collected from 14 wells screened near the water table in the sewered Twelve Pines housing development constructed in Medford, Suffolk County, in 1970. Samples were collected during 1972–79 and analyzed for total ammonium, organic nitrogen, and nitrate. Statistical analyses indicate that concentrations of nitrate-nitrogen in water from 10 of the wells increased significantly during 1972–79; those in water from the other four wells did not. Nitrogen loads were estimated to be 2,300 kg/yr from fertilizers, less than 80 kg/yr from irrigation water, 200 kg/yr from animals, and less than 670 kg/yr from precipitation. Leakage from sewers was considered negligible. Nitrate-nitrogen isotope ratios also suggest that the greatest source of nitrogen is from cultivation sources (either mineralized soil nitrogen or fertilizers) rather than human or animal wastes.     

Assessing background ground water chemistry beneath a new unsewered subdivision

Previous site-specific studies designed to assess the impacts of unsewered subdivisions on ground water quality have relied on upgradient monitoring wells or very limited background data to characterize conditions prior to development. In this study, an extensive monitoring program was designed to document ground water conditions prior to construction of a rural subdivision in south-central Wisconsin. Previous agricultural land use has impacted ground water quality; concentrations of chloride, nitrate-nitrogen, and atrazine ranged from below the level of detection to 296 mg/L, 36 mg/L, and 0.8 microg/L, respectively, and were highly variable from well to well and through time. Seasonal variations in recharge, surface topography, aquifer heterogeneities, surficial loading patterns, and well casing depth explain observed variations in ground water chemistry. This variability would not have been detected if background conditions were determined from only a few monitoring wells or inferred from wells located upgradient of the subdivision site. This project demonstrates the importance of characterizing both ground water quality and chemical variability prior to land-use change to detect any changes once homes are constructed.     

Efficacy of Annual Bacteria Monitoring and Shock Chlorination in Wells Finished in a Floodplain Aquifer

Public health authorities generally recommend annual water-quality monitoring of rural water wells and shock chlorination if coliforms are detected. It is implicitly assumed that shock chlorination is effective in ridding most wells of bacteriological pathogens for months to years. Neither annual monitoring nor shock chlorination was effective in addressing coliform contamination of selected water wells in a small town developed on an alluvial aquifer where septic system effluents are impacting well water quality. Considerable temporal variation in total and fecal coliforms was observed in water wells monitored for a six-month period. Individual wells intermittently met and exceeded the drinking water criteria, indicating annual sampling was insufficient. Shock chlorination of three contaminated wells and their associated distribution systems proved ineffective because colonies apparently originated from outside the wells and reappeared over relatively short time periods (ranging from less than one week up to 21 weeks). The relatively fast and similar rate of recovery of total heterotrophic bacteria suggested they are related to biofilm formation in the wells and not to ground water contamination.     

Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment of Septic Systems and Its Negative Effects on Shallow Ground Water

Soil-solution samplers and shallow ground water monitoring wells were utilized to monitor nitrate movement to ground water following H₂O₂ application to a clogged soil absorption system. Nitrate-nitrogen concentrations in soil water and shallow ground water ranged from 29 to 67 mg/L and 9 to 22 mg/L, respectively, prior to H₂O₂ treatment. Mean nitrate-nitrogen concentrations in soil water and ground water increased and ranged from 67 to 115 mg/L and 23 to 37 mg/L, respectively, one week after H₂O₂ application. Elevated concentrations of nitrate-nitrogen above background persisted for several weeks following H₂O₂ treatment. The H₂O₂ treatment was unsuccessful in restoring the infiltrative capacity of a well-structured soil. Application of H₂O₂ to the soil absorption system poses a threat of nitrate contamination of ground water and its usefulness should be fully evaluated before rehabilitation is attempted.     

Small-Scale Retrospective Ground Water Monitoring Study for Simazine in Different Hydrogeological Settings

A ground water monitoring study was conducted for the triazine herbicide simazine at 11 sites in the United States. The study used carefully selected, small-scale sites (average size: about 33 acres) with documented product use and sensitive hydrogeological settings. The sites selected were Tulare County, California (two sites); Fresno County, California; Sussex County, Delaware; Hardee and Palm Beach counties, Florida; Winnebago County, Illinois; Jackson County, Indiana; Van Buren and Berrien counties, Michigan; and Jefferson County, West Virginia. These sites satisfied the following criteria: a history of simazine use, including the year prior to the start of the study; permeable soil and vadose zone; shallow depth to water; no restrictive soil layers above the water table; and gentle slopes not exceeding 2 percent. A variety of crop types, climates, and irrigation practices were included. Monitoring well clusters (shallow and deep) were installed at each site except in California and West Virginia, where only shallow wells were installed. Simazine was monitored at these sites at quarterly intervals for a two-year period during 1986–1988.
The results of the study showed that out of 153 samples analyzed, 45 samples showed simazine detections. A substantial majority of the detections (32 out of 45) occurred in Tulare, Fresno, and Jefferson counties. The detections in these areas were attributed to mechanisms other than leaching, such as drainage wells, karst areas, surface water recharge, or point source problems. An additional 11 detections in Van Buren County were apparently due to an unknown upgradient source. Only one detection (in Palm Beach County, Florida) near the screening level of 0.1 ppb was attributed to possible leaching. The results of this investigation support the hypothesis that simazine does not leach significantly under field use conditions.     

Long-Term Confidence in Ground Water Monitoring Systems

State-of-the-art analytical techniques are capable of detecting contamination In the part per billion (ppb) range or lower. At these levels, a truly representative ground water sample Is essential to precisely evaluate ground water quality. The design specifications of a ground water monitoring system are critical in ensuring the collection of representative samples, particularly throughout the long-term monitoring period.
The potential interfaces from commonly used synthetic well casings require a thorough assessment of site, hydrogeology and the geochemical properties of ground water. Once designed, the monitoring system must be installed following guidelines that ensure adequate seals to prevent contaminant migration during the installation process or at some time in the future. Additionally, maintaining the system so the wells are in hydraulic connection with the monitored zone as well as periodically Inspecting the physical integrity of the system can prolong the usefulness of the wells for ground water quality. When ground water quality data become suspect due to potential interferences from existing monitoring wells, an appropriate abandonment technique must be employed to adequately remove or destroy the well while completely sealing the borehole.
The results of an inspection of a monitoring system comprised of six 4-inch diameter PVC monitoring wells at a hazardous well facility Indicated that the wells were improperly installed and in some cases provided a pathway for contamination. Subsequent down hole television inspections confirmed inaccuracies between construction logs and the existing system as well as identified defects in casing materials. An abandonment program was designed which destroyed the well casings in place while simultaneously providing a competent seal of the re-drilled borehole.     

Surveying Upstate NY Well Water for Pesticide Contamination: Cayuga and Orange Counties

Private wells in Cayuga and Orange counties in New York were sampled to determine the occurrence of pesticide contamination of groundwater in areas where significant pesticide use coincides with shallow or otherwise vulnerable groundwater. Well selection was based on local groundwater knowledge, risk modeling, aerial photo assessments, and pesticide application database mapping. Single timepoint samples from 40 wells in each county were subjected to 93‐compound chromatographic scans. All samples were nondetects (reporting limits ≤1 μg/L), thus no wells from either county exceeded any of 15 state groundwater standards or guidance values. More sensitive enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) found two wells with quantifiable atrazine in each county (0.1–0.3 μg/L), one well with quantifiable diazinon (0.1 μg/L) in Orange County, and one well with quantifiable alachlor (0.2 μg/L) in Cayuga County. Trace detections (<0.1 μg/L) in Cayuga County included atrazine (five wells), metolachlor (six wells), and alachlor (one well), including three wells with multiple detections. All 12 Cayuga County wells with ELISA detections had either corn/grain or corn/forage rotations as primary surrounding land uses (although 20 other wells with the same land uses had no detections) and all quantified detections and most trace detections occurred in wells up to 9‐m deep. Orange County trace (<0.1 μg/L) ELISA detections (atrazine three wells, diazinon one well, and metolachlor five wells) and quantified detections were only generally associated with agricultural land uses. Finding acceptable drinking water quality in areas of vulnerable groundwater suggests that water quality in less vulnerable areas will also be good.     

Pesticide Contamination of Ground Water Artificially Recharged by Farmland Runoff

Atrazine, cyanazine, alachlor, and metolachlor in the surface water of a recharge structure, which impounds runoff from row-cropped farmland in Nebraska, are transported with seepage to the shallow ground water flow system and to the locally confined regional aquifer. All wells in the shallow flow system and all those in the regional flow system impacted by seepage from the structure had detectable concentrations of at least one of the four pesticides.
The detectable concentrations of cyanzine, alachlor, and metolachlor in the two flow systems ranged from 0.1 to 0.9 ppb. These concentrations were an order of magnitude lower than those in the surface water. Concentrations in the regional aquifer clustered at the lower end of this concentration range. These three pesticides were not detected in the baseline study of the regional aquifer.
Unlike alachlor, cyanzine, and metolachlor, atrazine was always present in the wells impacted by seepage from the recharge structure. In the shallow flow system, concentrations ranged from 0.3 to 8.8 ppb and from 0.1 to 2.5 ppb in the regional aquifer. The average of the detectable atrazine concentrations in the baseline study was 0.04 ± 0.05 ppb.     

Evaluation of bacteriological and nutrient concerns in nearshore waters of a barrier island community in SW Florida

To determine if local onsite treatment systems affect nearshore water quality, seasonal and rain event monitoring of bacteria and nitrogen was conducted on the Gulf and estuary sides of Captiva Island. Monitoring wells were used to examine the relationship between surface water and groundwater quality. Nitrates were found to be significantly greater in ground water samples from the areas of Captiva using onsite treatment compared to areas with sewer. However, groundwater enterococci were no greater in areas with onsite treatment. Surface water nitrogen was significantly greater near onsite systems than areas with sewer, linking groundwater and surface water quality. Surface water enterococci increased significantly after rain events. Study results indicated stormwater runoff disperses indicator bacteria from diffuse terrestrial sources into nearshore waters, elevating the concentrations. This study reveals local onsite treatment systems produce elevated surface water nitrogen levels but do not contribute to elevated indicator bacteria concentrations in this system.     

The Effect of Three Drilling Fluids on Ground Water Sample Chemistry

Three monitoring wells were installed in borings that were constructed using water-based drilling fluids containing either (1) guar bean, (2) guar bean with breakdown additive, or (3) bentonite. These fluids were selected to observe their effect on the chemistry of subsequent water samples collected from the wells. The wells were installed to depths of 66 feet, 100.5 feet and 103 feet, respectively, in fine-to-medium sand and gravel outwash deposits near Antigo, Wisconsin. Drilling fluids were necessary to maintain an open borehole during well construction through strata containing cobbles and boulders.
The bentonite and guar drilling fluids caused temporarily elevated concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in ground water samples collected from the monitoring wells. Using standard development, purging and sampling procedures, elevated COD concentrations persisted for about 50 days for the well bored with the guar-with-additive fluid, 140 days for the bentonite well and 320 days for the guar well. Unfiltered ground water samples for all wells had greater concentrations of COD than samples filtered through a 0.45 micron filter. Sulfate concentrations also decreased with time in the guar-with-additive well and bentonite well, but not in the guar well.
The elevated COD concentrations are attributed to the large concentrations of oxidizable carbon present in the guar bean drilling fluid and in the organic polymers present in the bentonite drilling fluid. Well development and purging procedures, including borehole flushing, surging, bailing and/or chemically induced viscosity breakdown of the guar mud decreased the time before background conditions were achieved. Future research should evaluate the physical and geochemical interaction of different drilling fluid compositions with a variety of geologic matrices and drilling, well development and well purging techniques.     

Radium in Coastal Sarasota County Ground Water

Sarasota County is one of 10 generalized areas of the continental United States known to haw high concentrations of naturally occurring radium in fresh ground water (Chandler 1989). Various authors have conducted investigations to examine the distribution of radium in ground water, rivers, and estuaries. They concluded that ground water was the source of radium, but rivers were also enriched with radium as a result of the interaction with ground water. The Glulf of Mexico also has areas with radium enrichment resulting from geothermal springs with concentrations as high as 51 picocuries per liter. During 1986 and 1987. the Health and Rehabilitative Services of the state of Florida collected ground water data for radium analysis of private drinking water wells. These data were used to develop a contour map of radium-226 concentrations for coastal Sarasota County.     

Electrical Resistivity Studies to Delimit Zones of Acceptable Ground Water Quality

A total of four vertical electrical soundings were conducted in a layered andesitic rock aquifer known in places to yield ground water with total dissolved solids (TDS) in excess of 2,000 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The objective of the soundings was to locate zones of moderate to high permeability but with acceptable chemical quality.
The resistivity of a geologic unit is a function that includes the quantity of total dissolved solids in the interstitial water and the distribution of the water within the unit. Thus, the resistivity of most granular soils and rocks is controlled more by porosity, water content and water quality than by the conductivity of the matrix materials.
The electrical data delimited a drill site where it was believed that ground water of acceptable chemical quality could be expected. Completion and test pumping of two exploration wells confirmed the electrical sounding results.
The first test well drilled prior to the survey yielded only small amounts of ground water with total dissolved solids in excess of 2,000 mg/L. The second exploration well drilled at the site as a result of the electrical study yielded in excess of 100 gallons per minute of ground water with total dissolved solids of 830 mg/L.     

Low-Cost Apparatus for On-Site Monitoring of Methane in Ground Water

An upsurge in oil- and gas-well drilling in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York has been accompanied by several incidents of contamination of ground water by methane. Determining which well is causing the contamination is extremely difficult if more than one gas or oil well is present in the area.
The fact that the solubility of methane decreases as the pressure on ground water decreases provides a quantitative basis for monitoring changes in the amount of methane in the ground water. Quantitative measurements of the volume of methane given off by ground water pumped from a well as the water enters atmospheric pressure permit detection of temporal changes in the gas content which are too subtle to be detected visually. These gas volume changes may, in some cases, be correlated with variations in the pressure of methane in the annulus of nearby individual gas/oil wells and thus may provide a means of pinpointing the gas/oil well that is causing the methane contamination.
The basic principle of the gas-volume monitoring apparatus (GVMA) described in this paper is that as a measured amount of ground water enters atmospheric pressure the gas which comes out of solution is trapped and measured. The GVMA can be constructed of materials costing less than $100 and requires no special skills to assemble or operate. In a recent study conducted in a western New York village, four homeowners were able to collect quantitative gas-volume data from their household water wells daily in about one-half hour. Unlike laboratory analyses for dissolved methane, there is no cost involved in monitoring with the GVMA beyond the initial instrument cost and operator time. Another advantage is that the data are available immediately.     

Enhanced Degradation of Dissolved Benzene and Toluene Using a Solid Oxygen-Releasing Compound

A field lest to evaluate the applicability of an oxygon-releasing compound (ORC) to the rernediation of ground water contaminated with benzone and toluene was conducted in the Borden Aquifer in Ontario. Canada. Benzene and toluene were injected as organic substrates to represent BTEX compounds, bromide was used as a tracer, and nitrate was added to avoid nitrate-limited conditions.
The fate of the solutes was monitored along four lines of monitoring points and wells. Two lines studied the behavior of the solutes upgradient and downgradient of two large-diameter well screens filled with briquets containing ORC and briquets without ORC. One line was used to study the solute behavior upgradient and downgradient of columns of ORC powder placed directly in the saturated zone. The remaining line was a control.
The results indicate that ORC in both briquet and powder form can release significant amounts of oxygen to conlaminated ground water passing by it. In the formulation used in this work, oxygen release persisted for at least 10 weeks. Furthemiore, the study indicates that the enhancement of the available dissolved oxygen content of at least 4 mg/L each of the ground water by ORC can support biodegradation of benzene and toluene dissolved in ground water. Such concentrations are typical of those encountered at sites contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons; therefore, these results suggest that there is promise for ORC to enhance in situ biodegradation of BTKX contaminants at such sites using passive (nonpumping) systems to contact the contaminated ground water with the oxygen source.     

Pesticides in Nebraska's Ground Water

More than 2263 well water samples were collected throughout Nebraska and analyzed for pesticides. Thirteen and one-half percent contained detectable levels of atrazine, but only 22 wells exceeded the health advisory of 3.0 ppb. Although the samples came from almost every county in the state, this sampling is not based solely on a randomly selected group of wells. The highest frequency of detections occurred in irrigated corn-growing areas with less than 50 feet to ground water. These areas were sampled at a greater frequency than the less vulnerable areas. Cyanazine, together with the additional triazines — simazine, propazine, prometone, and ametryne, also were detected in some well waters; however, their frequency of detection was well below that of atrazine. The triazine metribuzin was not detected.
Alachlor, propachlor, and metolachlor also were detected in trace levels in several wells. Five of 2072 samples analyzed for alachlor exceeded the health advisory of 0.4 ppb. Almost all of the contaminated wells were in vulnerable areas. The relatively high frequency of propachlor detections occurred in predominately irrigated corn-growing areas, rather than in areas where propachlor is traditionally applied.
The factors that appear most directly involved in the observed distribution of pesticides in ground water are the intensity of areal usage, pesticide persistence and mobility, irrigation, soil drainage capacity, and depth to ground water.
Fifteen pesticide residues were detected during this study. If ethylene dibromide and carbon tetrachloride, which were detected in ground water adjacent to grain elevators are included, a total of 17 pesticide residues have been detected in Nebraska's ground water.     

Impact of Land Use on Ground-Water Quality in Southern Delawarea

A ground-water quality monitoring study was conducted in Kent and Sussex Counties, Delaware. In the coastal region of Sussex County, 210 wells were sampled 12 times each. In noncoastal Sussex and Kent Counties, 272 wells were sampled once each season over a period of one year. Over 99 percent of the wells were in the water-table aquifer. In coastal Sussex County, 32% of the wells had average nitrate concentrations above the EPA drinking-water standard of 10 mg/1 N. In noncoastal Sussex County and Kent County, 21% and 8% of the wells respectively, had nitrate concentrations above 10 mg/1. The highest nitrate concentrations occurred in areas with intensive broiler production or intensive crop production with excessively-drained soils. Nitrate concentrations in forest areas were <1.5 mg/1. Poultry manure, septic tanks and fertilizers all contributed to the high nitrate concentrations. Poultry manure was one of the major causes of nitrate contamination in four out of the five top prioritized ground-water problem areas. Bacteria contamination was low in all sampling areas. Lead, cadmium and chromium were far below drinking-water standards in all but a few wells.     

A Dry Injection System for the Emplacement of Filter Packs and Annular Seals in Ground Water Monitoring Wells

The reliability of filter pack and annular seal emplacements, and the degree of integrity of installed seals, are two of the most important factors to be considered when both installing and later utilizing ground water monitoring wells.
Numerous, and often costly, problems of using existing methods of installing filter packs and annular seals during the construction of ground water monitoring wells have led to the development of a technique of installing these monitoring well components using a dry injection system.
The dry injection system has been used to construct monitoring wells in extremely complex overburden/bedrock environments with a variety of drilling techniques. The system has shown that a high degree of reliability in the, construction of monitoring wells and greater confidence in obtaining representative ground water samples can be achieved over existing methods of filter pack and annular seal emplacement. The system has also been more cost effective than existing methods, especially for deep boreholes and multilevel monitoring system installations.     

Concentrations of Artificial Sweeteners and Their Ratios with Nutrients in Septic System Wastewater

This study reports the first comprehensive data set of characteristic concentrations of four artificial sweeteners: acesulfame (ACE), sucralose (SUC), saccharin (SAC), and cyclamate (CYC), and their ratios with nutrients, for untreated septic system wastewater. Samples were collected from the tanks of 19 different septic systems from across Ontario, Canada; these had a variety of usages, from single‐family cottages to multiple‐dwelling (campground or resort) facilities and had no additional treatment systems. The artificial sweetener concentrations and their relative proportions were highly variable in some cases, both temporally for several individual tanks and from site‐to‐site. Variability tended to be lower for multiple‐dwelling compared to single‐dwelling systems. This variability likely reflects differing use of artificial sweetener‐containing products. The median concentrations for the complete data set of all four artificial sweeteners (in a range of 10 to 60 μg/L) were of a similar order of magnitude, but slightly higher, than has generally been reported for wastewater treatment plant influent (though these vary substantially globally). Both SUC and ACE provided adequate positive linear relationships for dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus in the septic tanks, while a summation of ACE and SUC concentrations also gave a strong correlation. In contrast, CYC and SAC showed poor linear correlation with these nutrients. These reported ranges for artificial sweetener concentrations and ratios with nutrients may be used in future studies to estimate the contributions of nutrients or other wastewater constituents (e.g., pharmaceuticals, bacteria, and viruses) from domestic septic systems to groundwater, including water supply or irrigation wells, and nearby surface water bodies.     

Nitrogen loads to estuaries from waste water plumes: modeling and isotopic approaches

We developed, and applied in two sites, novel methods to measure ground water-borne nitrogen loads to receiving estuaries from plumes resulting from land disposal of waste water treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. In addition, we quantified nitrogen losses from WWTP effluent during transport through watersheds. WWTP load to receiving water was estimated as the difference between total measured ground water-transported nitrogen load and modeled load from major nitrogen sources other than the WWTP. To test estimated WWTP loads, we applied two additional methods. First, we quantified total annual waste water nitrogen load from watersheds based on nitrogen stable isotopic signatures of primary producers in receiving water. Second, we used published data on ground water nitrogen concentrations in an array of wells to estimate dimensions of the plume and quantify the annual mass of nitrogen transported within the plume. Loss of nitrogen during transport through the watershed was estimated as the difference between the annual mass of nitrogen applied to watersheds as treatment plant effluent and the estimated nitrogen load reaching receiving water. In one plume, we corroborated our estimated nitrogen loss in watersheds using data from multiple-level sampling wells to calculate the loss of nitrogen relative to a conservative tracer. The results suggest that nitrogen from the plumes is discharging to the estuaries but that substantial nitrogen loss occurs during transport through the watersheds. The measured vs. modeled and stable isotopic approaches, in comparison to the plume mapping approach, may more reliably quantify ground water-transported WWTP loads to estuaries.     

Fluoride in Nebraska's Ground Water

Fluoride concentrations in ground water are generally low but play an important role in dental health. This study evaluates the vertical and spatial distribution of fluoride in Nebraska's ground water and examines the geological and geochemical processes that control its concentration. Data from 1794 domestic wells sampled by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Regulation, and Licensure (NDOH) had a range of fluoride concentrations from <0.1 to 2.6 mg/L. and a median concentration of 0.3 mg/L. The median fluoride concentrations for Nebraska's 13 ground water regions varied from 0.2 to 0.7 mg/L. In each of these regions, individual wells may have either insufficient or overabundant F concentrations; we recommend that individual private water systems be tested for fluoride. Based on these data, system-specific recommendations can be made regarding the necessity for fluoridation.
Geochemical data indicated that the majority of fluoride occurs as F. Dissolution of F-bearing minerals controls fluoride occurrence. Apatite plus minor amounts of fluorite along with significant ground water residence times are the primary factors controlling F in the water from the Dakota Formation in Knox County, as well as in other parts of northeastern Nebraska. In western and southwestern Nebraska, dissolution of volcanic glass is the most probable source of F Long residence times plus fluorite also may contribute to the F concentrations in the Chadron Formation.