Nitrate and Nitrosatable Agrichemical Testing Results in Nebraska

Well Testing in the LENRD Area

Increasing percentage of Irrigation Wells over 10ppm

Increasing Pierce County Phase 2 Area Irrigation Well Nitrate Average — Pierce County Phase 2 Area Irrigation Well Nitrate Average

Atrazine and Nitrate Presence in Nebraska Wells

Wells sampled for **atrazine** (1977-2014). 916 positive of 4311 wells sampled

Wells sampled for **nitrate** (1977-2014). 18,843 positive (> 2 mg/L) of 25,811 wells sampled

Source: Quality-Assessed Agrichemical Contaminant Database for Nebraska Groundwater

Nitrate is the most common chemical contaminant in the world’s aquifers. Atrazine is another widely used agrichemical and one of the most commonly detected pesticides in U.S. drinking water. These maps illustrate the distribution of wells that have tested positive for Atrazine and Nitrates.

Wells sampled. 60% Irrigation. 3% Commercial. 27% Domestic. 2% Public. 3% Livestock. 10% Monitoring.

Percent of wells positive for Nitrate contamination. Commercial 26%. Domestic 63%. Irrigation 75%. Public 57%. Monitoring 81%. Livestock 77%. — Percent wells positive for nitrate, atrazine and combination by well type (1977-2014)

New-Aaron, Moses; Meza, Jane L.; Shea, Patrick J.; and Rhoades, Martha, “Birth outcomes and water: A multidisciplinary study” (2018). Posters and Presentations: College of Public Health. 11.

Nitrosatable agrichemicals detected in Nebraska groundwater wells

This graph shows wells that were tested for Nitrate and any Nitrosatable Agrichemicals. The table shows the percent of positive wells for each ag chemical, how many counties are represented in the calculation and how many wells were sampled.

About 34% of wells tested positive for nitrate and nitrosatable agrichemicals

“Agrichemical Mixtures in Drinking Water and Health Outcomes in Nebraska” Research presented by Martha Rhoades, PhD – 2019 Nebraska Water Conference