E2-UncMt«r Farming, Satarday, April 4,1M7 Nitrates, Bacteria Foul Lancaster Co. Ground Water BY JACK HUBLEY LANCASTER If you’re a Lancaster Countian gambling that the nitrate level in your well meets safe drinking water standards, you’ve only got a SO percent chance of being right, according to nitrate tests conducted earlier this week by the extension service. Free nitrate testing was offered as part of three Safe Drinking Water Clinics conducted by the Penn State Extension at two locations. Two programs were offered at the Farm and Home Center on Tuesday and a third was conducted at the Blue Ball School Wednesday evening. Of the 50 water samples sub mitted for testing, 54 percent were in excess of the widely recognized maximum drinking water stan dard of 45 parts per million of nitrate, according to die clinic’s coordinator, Mitch Woodward, who serves as a regional manure management specialist at the Lancaster Extension office. Woodward noted that, although the entire county was “fairly well * represented,” the test was probably somewhat biased. “My guess is that we’re probably a little higher than what would be the case throughout die county,” he said, adding that those who attended the clinics may have done so because they were already aware of elevated nitrate levels in their water supplies. A common contaminant in Lancaster County ground water, elevated nitrate levels are generally traced to livestock manure, septic systems and commercial fertilisers. Excessive nitrate intake has been linked to methemoglobinemia, or “blue baby disease,” in which nitrate is coverted to nitrate in the body and “YELLOW JACKET” RIO. ALTERNATOR DELIVERS ALLTHE ELECTRK POWER YOU NEEIV YOU NEED IT. Sample Of Our Extra Low Price PTO-40KW $2699 interferes with the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. Especially worrisome in children under six months of age, the disease can be fatal. At levels in excess of 100 ppm nitrate can also cause problems in livestock. Woodward said, pointing out that SS percent of the samples submitted from the Blue Ball area exceeded this level. Woodward stressed that the test was only accurate enough to indicate an approximate range of con tamination, and further testing by a qualified laboratory would be necessary to obtain more reliable results. Penn State water quality specialist Joe Makuch drove home the importance of clean ground water by pointing out that 47 permit of the state’s total drinking water, and virtually all the drinking water in rural areas, comes from underground supplies. Groundwater also supplies streams with two-thirds of their flow, be said. But this important source of dean water is being degraded at an increasing rate by expanding animal agriculture, along with residential and industrial development, said Richard Croyle, the owner of Biometrics Inc., a Quarryville-base water testing laboratory. Croyle said that another contaminant that warrants dose monitoring is coliform bacteria. Originating from animal waste and septic systems, colifonns themselves may not be harmful, but they are the accepted “ben chmark,” said Croyle; an in dicator that other harmful bac teria may be in the water supply. “I don’t like to find any colifonns in (drinking) water,” he said. A FIDELITY With Trailer $2894 Pestiddes are another group of compounds known to percolate into groundwater supplies, said Joe Makuch. A pesticide’s ability to find its way into ground water depends on the compound’s per sistence and the type of soil it is moving through. Makuch urged applicators to follow label direc tions doaely and never dump excess pestiddes on the ground or in sinkholes. “Sinkholes are a direct connection to the ground water system,” he stressed. Penn State water resources specialist William Sharp reviewed several additional potential ground water problems. In southeastern Pennsylvania the most widespread problem is corrosive water, he said. With its addic pH, this “aggressive” water is capable of dissolving copper pipes, as well as the lead used to solder pipe joints. Iran is normally not a health hazard and is a problem in only about 4 percent of the drinking water supplies in the southeast, Sharp said. Sulfates also are not a significant problem in the region. As a general rule, Sharp recommended testing drinking water annually for bacteria and nitrates and testing at three-year, intervals for pH, sulfates and total dissolved solids. Although methods exist to deal with all the above pollutants, proper well construction can go a long way toward avoiding potential expensive cleanup measures, said Sharp. Wells should be cased to a depth of at least 25 feet, and the casing should extend at least 8 to 12 inches above the ground. 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