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Name
Course
Instructor
Date
Nitrate in Flagstaff Arizona
Nitrate is a regulated water contaminant in the United States. It is very common in the rural areas
and causes “blue baby” disease (Methemoglobinemia) when it is over concentrated in water. It is
an inorganic compound found in the environment due to both natural and unnatural. Its major
components include Nitrogen and three parts oxygen. The major sources of nitrate contamination
in water include, but not limited to farming fertilizer which gets washed away from the soil to
ground water sources, human sewerage and livestock manure. Its maximum contamination level
(MCL) is 10.0 mg/l with a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) of 11.3 mg/l according to
water quality association. MCL is the highest level of contaminant allowed in drinking water
while MLCG is the margin of safety within which contamination by a particular agent bares no
health risks, i.e. when a certain level of contamination by say nitrate does not lead to any health
risks. To keep the public safe the MLCs are set extremely close to the MCLGs as possible of
course considering cost, available technology, and treatment.
In Flagstaff, the lowest levels detected 0.14 MCL in 2012 and a high of 1.5 in the same year. The
biggest contributor to these levels of contamination was attributed to fertilizer, mostly carried off
to ground water by soil erosion. In Phoenix, the highest recorded MCL for nitrate contaminate
was also within the same range. In Phoenix the primary source of water was shallow wells until
Name
Course
Instructor
Date
Nitrate in Flagstaff Arizona
Nitrate is a regulated water contaminant in the United States. It is very common in the rural areas
and causes “blue baby” disease (Methemoglobinemia) when it is over concentrated in water. It is
an inorganic compound found in the environment due to both natural and unnatural. Its major
components include Nitrogen and three parts oxygen. The major sources of nitrate contamination
in water include, but not limited to farming fertilizer which gets washed away from the soil to
ground water sources, human sewerage and livestock manure. Its maximum contamination level
(MCL) is 10.0 mg/l with a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) of 11.3 mg/l according to
water quality association. MCL is the highest level of contaminant allowed in drinking water
while MLCG is the margin of safety within which contamination by a particular agent bares no
health risks, i.e. when a certain level of contamination by say nitrate does not lead to any health
risks. To keep the public safe the MLCs are set extremely close to the MCLGs as possible of
course considering cost, available technology, and treatment.
In Flagstaff, the lowest levels detected 0.14 MCL in 2012 and a high of 1.5 in the same year. The
biggest contributor to these levels of contamination was attributed to fertilizer, mostly carried off
to ground water by soil erosion. In Phoenix, the highest recorded MCL for nitrate contaminate
was also within the same range. In Phoenix the primary source of water was shallow wells until
