It is not difficult to remove visible contaminants from well water. However, what if there are nitrates in well water? Nitrates are odorless, tasteless, and cannot be seen in the water. Be aware that high nitrate consumption can affect everyone and lead to severe diseases, including cancer.
The blue baby syndrome is also caused by consuming water having high nitrate concentration. Thus, nitrate in your well water can be harmful to your health.
Don’t put your family and yourself at risk of nitrate poisoning. Learn all you can about well water nitrates. With specialized treatment such as reverse osmosis and distillation, the level of nitrate can be reduced to a level that it no longer poses any threat.
What are nitrates?
Nitrates, otherwise known as nitrites, are naturally occurring in all water sources, including well water. These compounds are formed from nitrogen and oxygen and are byproducts of soil bacteria and the natural decomposition of plant and animal matter.
Nitrogen is a crucial element to all living creatures and is abundant in our environment. But on the other hand, the high concentration of nitrate in drinking water poses a serious threat, especially to children and pregnant women, though it affects all in one way or another.
How does nitrate get into well water?
Typically, nitrates are present naturally in groundwater but at a level that it does not cause any harm. How is it than found in well water?
A well may have this problem due to its particular location, incorrect construction, improper disposal of human or animal wastes, or the use of chemical fertilizers near the surface.
Nitrate contamination of wells may also occur near landfills, industrial manufacturing facilities, and wastewater disposal sites.
Flooding is another major reason your well water gets contaminated.
How do you find the nitrate level of your well water?
The only reliable way to find out where the nitrate level of your well water stands is to perform a laboratory test. Get in touch with the nearest accredited laboratory, and they brief you about the process.
In addition to the nitrate level, a laboratory test will also clarify about other pollutants and bacteria present in water, such as iron, sulfur, and coliform.
Meanwhile, drink water from a safe source, and the well water can be used for other domestic purposes.
Remember, testing is the only way to determine if nitrates are present since they are tasteless, colorless, and odorless.
How much nitrate is safe in drinking water?
Water with nitrate levels of less than 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L) can be considered safe for consumption. However, it should be free from other contaminants too.
Testing water at least once a year is recommended if you are getting 10 ppm (mg/L) or less nitrogen result.
If the results show a nitrate level between 11 and 40 ppm (mg/L), you should avoid drinking. You should only use it during an emergency. But then again, pregnant women and children should not consume it at all. Seek treatment options and get this nitrate level below 10.
More than 40 ppm (mg/L) results mean the concentration is too high, and water is not safe for drinking for anyone.
How to reduce nitrate levels in well water?
Boiling, filtration, chlorination, or even disinfection cannot help in removing the nitrate from well water. A thorough treatment process is required, such as ion exchange, water distillation, or reverse osmosis system.
It’s more important that you look for the reasons that cause nitrate levels to elevate and then address those reasons. For example, constructing the well away from contaminated sources and in a proper manner. This will prevent nitrates from contaminating your drinking water.
Anyway, let’s explore a bit of the ion exchange method and also how water distillation helps reduce the nitrate in well water.
Ion exchange for nitrate removal
One of the most effective techniques to get rid of nitrate from well water is ion exchange, which works the same way as a water softener. By passing contaminated water through a strong-base anion exchange resin and regenerating it with common salt or potassium chloride, the resin beads will collect nitrate ions and displace the harmless chloride ions into the water in their place.
Only a limited volume of water can be processed through ion exchange before the chloride ions are consumed. If this happens, the media or cartridge has to be regenerated or replaced.
Water distillation
Water distillation is another effective process when it comes to removing nitrate from well water. In this method, water is boiled in a closed chamber, and steam produced is routed through a cooling coil where the steam is converted back into the liquid. As a result, the water you will get will be free from nitrates as the water contaminants are left in the boiling chamber.
Though the process is quite slow and expensive, it does remove nitrates altogether.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that nitrates can be found naturally in groundwater, and it won’t cause any harm if it is less than 10 ppm (mg/L). But you will never know about the presence of nitrate in well water until you test it or when it starts causing illness. So, keep it in a check, just like the way you do for other contaminants.