Water Testing
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has started a program of free testing of water from your home, farm, well…whatever your source of drinking water, and the program is offered at state fairs. Nitrate contamination in ground water is an increasing concern in Idaho. Nitrate is a chemical form of nitrogen found in soil and ground water primarily as a result of leaking or unmaintained septic systems, leaching from areas with high animal manure concentrations such as feed lots, corrals, or agricultural fields, and overuse of nitrogen-based fertilizers.
If your well water has high levels of nitrate, it can be a risk to your family’s health, especially infants and animals.
Many people assume that water coming from their kitchen faucet is clean and safe to drink. This is generally true for public water systems that have to comply with state and federal drinking water standards. However, water from private wells does not have to meet these drinking water standards. It is solely the well owner’s responsibility to ensure that drinking water consumed by family members is safe. DEQ’s Rochelle Mason tells us why the agency does on site testing: “This a real easy contaminant to test, and that may be a reason why we are able to do it during the fair.”
