Nitrate Groundwater Issues: New Mexico's Perspective

Nitrate is likely the most ubiquitous groundwater contaminant in the Southwest and possibly North America. A nationwide survey in the late 1980s indicated that nitrate contamination had probably impacted more public and domestic supply wells than any other contaminant. In 1992 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 2.4 percent of private wells nationwide exceeded the federal regulatory drinking water standard of 10 milligrams per liter (mg/l) nitrogen as nitrate (ITRC, 2000). By 2004, the New Mexico Environment Department determined that 220 nitrate contamination sites had adversely impacted 710 private and 82 public supply wells in the state, although 90 percent of New Mexico's population depends on groundwater for its drinking water (NMED, 2006). Because nitrate is a regulated contaminant, the nitrate standard must be enforced. Yet the assessment and remediation of nitrate-contaminated groundwater has not received as much attention as contamination by carcinogenic contaminants and other "contaminants du jour" such as chlorinated solvents. If nitrate is such a widespread problem, why the lack of attention?.