Nitrate in the Groundwater of Pierce County, Summers 1980 and 1981, A Base Line Study (OFR-28)

Hanson, B. V. 1981, 1983. Nitrate in the Groundwater of Pierce County, Summers 1980 and 1981, A Base Line Study (OFR-28). 38 pp., + 2 over-sized maps. Description: Prepared in cooperation with the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Control and the Pierce County Extension Service. Previous sampling results, intensive irrigation development, and highly permeable soil types in Pierce County have raised concerns and speculation about groundwater nitrate concentrations. This study was undertaken to learn what nitrate concentrations were present in the early 1980s in Pierce County's utilized groundwaters, and to assess what health risk, if any, was constituted by these concentrations. The study was also intended to demonstrate trends and rates of groundwater nitrate concentration changes in Pierce County; future sampling can be done in a similar manner and compared to the base line data provided in this study.