NITRATES AND BACTERIAL DISTRIBUTION IN RURAL DOMESTIC WATER-SUPPLIES

The protection of underground water resources in an important facet of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Effective intervention strategy for active source protection requires up-to-date information on ground water quality and the knowledge of potential sources and causes of contamination. In the present study the state of well water supplies in rural East Texas was evaluated in order to develop a practical approach to surveying water sources in 'back-country' areas, which would allow the differentiation of natural from anthropogenic factors affecting water quality. The specific focus was on nitrates, their extent, causes and sources in rural well water. Data were processed using synographic mapping which permitted the comparison of the natural tendency in distribution of nitrates with the patterns induced by man's activities. Trend surface analysis of data indicated that the surveyed Tertiary and Quaternary sands were not naturally nitrate-rich. Localized and well-defined spots of nitrates, many times in excess of the background, were traceable to the anthropogenic sources. The study identified the characteristics of high risk wells. © 1979.