Graduate Project
 

The Community Well Water Testing Program: Volunteer Groundwater Nitrate Monitoring in the Southern Willamette Valley of Oregon

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_projects/fn106z68b

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  • In October 2006, the Oregon State University Extension Service Well Water Program began a groundwater monitoring project to learn more about well water nitrate levels in the Southern Willamette Valley and increase community involvement in groundwater management activities. The primary objectives of the program were to elucidate trends in spatial and temporal variability of nitrate in well derived drinking water, facilitate understanding of regional groundwater issues through neighbor-to-neighbor outreach, and assist rural residents in protecting their drinking water supply. The Community Well Water Testing Program established neighborhood networks in which volunteer monitors tested their own well and their neighbors’ wells for nitrate on a monthly basis. Each volunteer monitor was responsible for collecting water samples from 3-9 neighborhood wells, analyzing the samples using a LaMotte nitrate-nitrogen test kit, and reporting results to both the well owner and program managers. During the 2006-2007 sampling year, 20 volunteer monitors tested 1,209 well water samples for nitrate. The mean nitrate concentration for all tested wells over this period was 3.0 mg/L. Annual mean nitrate values ranged from 0 to 14.1 mg/L with a median of 1.9 mg/L. Eleven wells had an annual mean nitrate value over 7 mg/L, the Oregon groundwater nitrate action level, while 6 wells had an annual mean nitrate value over 10 mg/L, the national nitrate public water supply standard. Results showed considerable regional variability as well as seasonal variation by well. Monitoring prompted questions, interest, and learning while initiating conversations and involvement among neighbors. Collectively, monitoring and neighborhood outreach brought attention to regional groundwater resources and encouraged increased awareness.
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