Getting nitrate safe water for your family may be a challenge, but there are some important ways to make sure your water is safe to drink. Whether your family is drinking from a well or bottled water, there are ways to make sure that it is safe for you and your loved ones.
Test for nitrates in your drinking water
Whether you live in an urban or rural setting, it is important to test for nitrates in your drinking water. A few sources of nitrate contamination include fertilizers, animal waste, septic systems, and flooded sewers. You can test your water for nitrates with a DIY kit or a state-certified laboratory.
The level of nitrates in your drinking water can affect the health of your family. It can cause methemoglobinemia, or “blue baby syndrome”, which occurs when the blood lacks oxygen and cells cannot grow. This condition can be fatal if left untreated. It is especially dangerous to infants and pregnant women.
The safe drinking water limit for nitrate is 10 mg/L. A nitrate concentration above 10 mg/L is harmful to infants and is considered toxic for children under 6 months of age.
Treatment methods to remove nitrate from your drinking water
Fortunately, there are treatment methods to remove nitrate from your drinking water. However, treating nitrate is an expensive endeavor. Many public and private water systems do not have treatment systems installed.
These communities can have problems with elevated nitrate levels that can affect the red blood cells of infants. This condition is called methemoglobinemia. The symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, and blue nail beds.
The US EPA has set a maximum concentration of nitrate in drinking water at 10 ppm, or parts-per-million. This limit was set in 1962 to prevent the disease known as “blue baby syndrome”. The WHO has set a maximum concentration of 50 ppm for most of the world. This limit is based on a risk assessment for infants.
There are treatment methods to remove nitrate in drinking water, and some of them are effective. These methods include ion exchange units, distillation systems, and reverse osmosis.
High incidence of infant methemoglobinemia in eastern Europe
Despite the ubiquity of artificial fertilizers and modern day irrigation systems, nitrate is still a problem in Europe and the US. In fact, tens of thousands of households continue to drink water that is contaminated with this toxic substance. This is especially true in rural areas where the source water supply is not well monitored.
The EPA has set a maximum permissible level of 10 mg/L NO3-N for drinking water, which is a far cry from the recommended maximum of 6.4 mg/L. However, the European Economic Community has established a nitrate health guideline of 5.6 mg/L, which is a mere one-half the level at which no cases have been reported.
In a more practical context, the EPA standard was set to protect infants from methemoglobinemia, which has the potential to be a life-threatening condition. The FDA has a similar approach, although the agency is far more lax in its oversight. In fact, a recent study in Belgium found that 29% of the 5000 wells tested had nitrate levels higher than 50 mg/L.
High incidence of nitrate contamination in the Gaza Strip
Despite the chronic water shortage in the Gaza Strip, a recent study reveals high incidence of nitrate contamination in groundwater. Groundwater contaminated with nitrate has been found to cause methemoglobinemia, a condition which causes diarrhoea, blue skin, and death. Nitrate pollution is caused by fertilization, wastewater leaks, and overloaded treatment plants. Among the factors that contribute to high nitrate pollution are land use, permeable soils, and shallow groundwater.
The study used a standard DRASTIC procedure to map the vulnerability of groundwater in the Gaza Strip. The procedure uses seven hydrogeological factors to derive a groundwater vulnerability map. The map resembles other studies of the same region. The study’s results can be used to guide decision makers in the region.
The study found that the nitrate concentration in groundwater is high in urban centers. The authors argue that high concentrations of nitrate are due to wastewater leaks and the use of excessive nitrogen fertilizer in agriculture.