Local townships targeted for nitrate testing in private wells; water kits mailed this week

The quality of drinking water is important for every rural well owner, and nitrate is one of the most common ground water contaminants found in rural areas. 
Drinking water with high nitrate concentrations can cause serious health effects in infants, and the presence of nitrate may indicate other contaminants in water.  
The Rock County Soil and Water Conservation District is assisting rural well owners in testing their water for nitrates through a partnership with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Several townships in Rock County have been targeted for testing, due to the type of geology and depth of groundwater in these areas.
They include Rose Dell, Battle Plain, Mound, Vienna, Luverne, Magnolia and Clinton townships. The Nobles County townships of Lismore, Westside, Olney and Grand Prairie are also targeted.
These townships have vulnerable access to the aquifer and a high proportion of land in row crop production.
In all, 930 wells are eligible for testing in these areas, and well owners this week received information in the mail about free nitrate sample kits that will be mailed to them April 1.
Arlyn Gehrke, engineering technician with the Rock County Land Management Office, is coordinating the program and said he expects a high rate of participation.
“We’ve had a lot of interest already,” he said.
When well owners receive their kits, they simply need to answer the survey questions and fill the water sample bottles following the sampling instructions and mail it back in a prepaid mailer.
The sample must be taken the same day as it is mailed, and results will be sent to well owners free of charge with their names, mailing addresses, phone numbers and emails kept confidential. 
Gehrke said the nitrate results will be mapped at a countywide scale, summarized and assessed by township as part of the Draft Minnesota Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan.
In areas where wells are shown to have high levels of nitrate, the MDA will investigate possible sources of contamination and attempt to address those conditions.
Gehrke said these sources could be septic systems, feedlots or fertilizer runoff from row-crop fields.
“The knowledge gained by having your well tested will not only help protect you and your family, but will also assist your county to gain a better picture of the presence of nitrate in drinking water,” he said.
Gehrke can be reached at the Land Management Office at 283-8862, ext. 4.