The Benton Soil & Water Conservation District and Minnesota Department of Agriculture are conducting the nitrate clinic from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Aug. 1 and 2. The clinic will be at the SWCD’s fair booth in the Education Building.

Nitrate is a common contaminant, particularly in shallow wells, dug wells and wells with damaged or leaking casings. Nitrates can come from fertilizers, animal waste and human sewage. It is tasteless, odorless and colorless. ( source )

Nitrates’ undetectable nature (except by testing. see nitrate/nitrite test strips) makes it a potentially dangerous well and drinking water contaminant. Unborn children, infants and small children can become very ill and possibly even die from prolonged exposure to elevated nitrate levels in their drinking water (see Blue Baby Syndrome).

Nitrate’s effects on older children and adults remains unclear at this time but some health experts have tentatively linked prolonged exposure to higher than normal nitrate levels with serious illnesses like lymphoma.

More free nitrate testing in Minnesota

For those not able to get out to the Benton County Fair to take advantage of the free nitrate testing the Benton Benton Soil & Water Conservation District located at 14 Second Ave. W in Foley, MN offers local residents free nitrate testing during office hours during the week. Interested parties may call 968-5300, Extension 3 or email Adam@soilandwater.org.

Testing for nitrates elsewhere

As we learn of more free and/or discounted well water testing offers we will post them on the site. In the meantime, if you would like to perform testing of your well water yourself we recommend the WaterWorks Nitrate & Nitrite Test Strips currently available in our Water Test Kit Store. While not as awesome a deal as free testing, you can get 50 tests for around $14 and you can get the water test kit you need in just a few days.

Today we’d like to highlight the free nitrate testing program that will run from July 18 to July 20, 2011 in Douglas County, Minnesota.

Sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Douglas County Soil and Water Conservation District, free nitrates in water testing will get offered to residents who bring samples of their well or tap water to the County offices in Alexandria.

Why test for nitrates?

For starters, the USEPA has deemed them a health hazard if consumed in too great a quantity — especially for young children and babies.

A condition known as Blue Baby Syndrome, experts believe, may result when nitrates hinder the ability of hemoglobin to carry oxygen in the bloodstream.

Reduced amounts of oxygen in the bloodstream can cause developmental problems and could even result in the death.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and Douglas County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will offer a free nitrate water-testing clinic July 18-20 at the County offices located at 900 Robert Street, Suite 102, in Alexandria. Clinic hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The clinic is the latest in a series of water-testing clinics sponsored by MDA. Nitrates are the most common contaminants in Minnesota’s groundwater, and in some areas of the state a significant number of wells have high nitrate levels. With that in mind, experts recommend that homeowners who get their drinking water from wells should test their water regularly.

“Nitrates in drinking water can be a risk to human health,” MDA Commissioner Dave Frederickson said. “Public drinking water supplies are monitored for nitrates, but it’s important for homeowners with private wells to check their water and take action if their water has high nitrates levels.” ( source )

For those not lucky enough to live in a place offering free nitrate testing, do not fret because everyone has the option of performing at-home testing for nitrates for less than $0.50 per test AND get dependable results in just a few short minutes. The WaterWorks Nitrate/Nitrite Test Strip gives homeowners and water professionals the ability to quickly determine if a Nitrate or Nitrite problem may exist in a body of water.

Filters to remove nitrates from drinking water?

Several different styles of filter exist to remove nitrates from drinking water. Depending upon the amount of water you want to filter and the amount of nitrates in your source water, pricing for a simple disposable nitrate removal filter start around $120, pricing for higher capacity undersink nitrate filters start around $125, and pricing for more sophisticated whole house nitrate removal systems starts around $1,370.

SenSafe Water Quality Test Kit

Some folks believe that water coming from the ground naturally ranks as the cleanest, purest water possible — because they don’t KNOW any better. Depending upon where a person lives, sometimes the water coming out of the ground contains dangerously high levels of contaminants that could seriously affect a person’s health if not removed from the water prior to consumption.

Where do the contaminants come from? Some occur naturally in Nature and others, such as nitrates, occur in Nature, yes, but can also come from man-made chemical products such as fertilizer.

Park Rapids, Minn. — The water supply in the city of Park Rapids is contaminated with nitrates, and many suspect the source is the fertilizer used on local farm fields.

Park Rapids has had elevated nitrate levels in its water for years. But last April was the first time a city well exceeded 10 parts per million, the threshold for what’s considered safe. The well was shut down.

City administrator Bill Smith says residents aren’t panicking, they are concerned. Nitrate contamination can cause health problems. It’s especially dangerous for infants, who can get something called blue baby syndrome — when nitrates inhibit a baby’s ability to use oxygen.

Smith says some blame local farmers who put tons of nitrogen-based fertilizer on their fields. That includes the R.D. Offutt Company, or RDO — the largest potato grower in the U.S., and the community’s largest employer. ( source )

As in most other situations involving drinking water quality testing, nothing takes the place of water test performed by a certified drinking water testing laboratory. That does NOT mean, however, a person cannot perform spot checks on their own water for potentially harmful contaminants such as nitrates between certified water tests using at-home drinking water test kits.

At-Home Drinking Water Test Kits Capable of Testing for Nitrates:

• WaterWorks Nitrate-Nitrite Test Strips
• Drinking Water Quality Test Kit
• WaterSafe Well Water Test Kit
• COMPLETE Water Test Kit
• Well Drillers Standard Test Kit
• Well Drillers Master Test Kit