title: The nitrate contamination of private well water in Iowa.
abstract: The State-Wide Rural Well-Water Survey was conducted between April 1988 and June 1989. About 18% of Iowa's private, rural drinking-water wells contain nitrate above the recommended health advisory level (levels of NO3-N greater than 10 mg/L); 37% of the wells have levels greater than 3 mg/L, typically considered indicative of anthropogenic pollution. Thirty-five percent of wells less than 15 m deep exceed the health advisory level, and the mean concentration of nitrate-nitrogen for these wells exceeds 10 mg/L. Depth of well is the best predictor of well-water contamination. Individually, NO3-N levels of more than 10 mg/L occurred alone in about 4% of the private wells statewide; pesticides were present alone in about 5%. Total coliform positives occurred alone at 27% of the sites. In a cumulative sense, these three contaminants were detected in nearly 55% of rural private water supplies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health, AMRF-Oakdale Campus, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242.
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Kross
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Hallberg
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Bruner
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cherryholmes
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007484:Iowa; D009566:Nitrates / Q000032:analysis*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis; D012423:Rural Health; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D009566:Nitrates; D010575:Pesticides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical