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.

Well Water Test Kit for Iron, Copper, Lead, Bacteria, Pesticides, Nitrates, Nitrites, Chlorine,
pH and Total Hardness

We absolutely LOVE posting about free water testing… and this free water testing announcement comes to use from Scott County, Minnesota where the Minnesota Department of Agriculture will offer free nitrate testing for County residents beginning at 8 am this Saturday (7/30/11) at the county Highway Garage at 600 Country Trail E. (located next door to the county hazardous water facility).

Directions: Take Highway 282 a half-mile west of the intersection of County Road 17, Highway 282 and Highway 13.

Homeowners should bring at least a half cup of water in a clean plastic or clean glass container. Run the water for five to ten minutes prior to collecting and if you have a water filtration system installed, make sure you take a sample of water both before and after the filtration unit. People with water softeners need only take one sample, though.

Make sure you refrigerate the sample(s) if you do not intend to go and have them tested right away. Also, make sure all testing gets done within 24 hours of sample collection.

And… if my well contains nitrates? What then?

If you test your water for nitrates and find that it does, in fact, contain nitrates, you will most certainly want to have your water tested by a certified water testing laboratory in your area or by a reputable mail-in water testing lab such as National Testing Laboratories to see if any other problems exist.

Then, using the results of your comprehensive water test, select the correct water filtration system to remove and/or reduce the levels of unwanted drinking water contaminants found in your water.