FergusConservation District

WellEducatedProgram
TeresaMowen,W.AdamSigler,Dr.JamesBauder 11/30/2009

FundedbyDNRCConservationDistrictHB223grantfunding,cooperativelywiththeUSDACSREES NorthernPlainsandMountainsRegionalWaterQualityProjectandMontanaStateUniversityExtension WaterQualityprogram.

 Background: Historically,FergusCountyhasbeenknowntohavenitratenitrogenlevelsinsomewellwatersupplies greaterthanwhatistypicallyexpectedinmostpartsofMontana.Thedrinkingwaterstandardfor nitratenitrogenhasbeensetbytheUSEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)at10mg/l.Ina1989 studyconductedbyMontanaStateUniversityExtensionWaterQuality(MSUEWQ),levelsofnitrate nitrogenexceedingthedrinkingwaterqualitystandard,werefoundin16%of145wellstested.This studywaspartofastatewidevoluntarygroundwaterassessmentproject,andthesehighnitrate nitrogenlevelswerenottiedtospecificlocationsorwellswithinFergusCounty. In2005,MSUEWQbegananewinteractiveprogram,providingwellwatertestingandinterpretationof results,availabletowellownersthroughoutMontana.Thisannualprogram,labeledastheWell Educatedprogram,producedsimilarfindingsofelevatednitratenitrogenvaluesinsomewellwater suppliesfromFergusCountyandsurroundingareain2007.Duringthe2007program,statewidetesting throughtheWellEducatedprogramindicated3.1%of288wellshadnitratenitrogenvaluesabovethe EPAdrinkingwaterstandard.Ofthe3.1%samplesabovedrinkingwaterstandard,77.8%camefrom FergusCounty. Nitratenitrogenindrinkingwaterasanissueofpublichealthconcernisevidencedbythefactthatthe EnvironmentalProtectionAgencyhasnationallyestablishedallowablelimitsfornitratenitrogenin publicdrinkingwatersupplies.Thesestandardsareenforceablewitheverypublicwatersupplierinthe US.Additionally,ingestionofwatercontaininghighlevelsofnitratenitrogenhasbeenassociatedwith bluebabysyndrome(methemoglobinemia)andhasbeencorrelatedwithelevatedinstancesofgastric cancer. GoalsandObjectives: FergusCountyConservationDistrict(ConservationDistrict),withMSUEWQandtheFergusCounty ExtensionAgent(ExtensionAgent),setouttoassessnitratenitrogenvaluesin165wellswithinFergus County,throughtheWellEducatedprogram.Thiswouldconstitute,approximately10%ofthe1633(a numberderivedfromMontanaBureauofMinesandGeologyGroundWaterInformationCenterdata, 2007)domesticwellsinthecounty.FergusConservationDistrictagreedtoprovidecoordinationof projectimplementationandpresentationoftheprogramtothepublic.TheConservationDistrictalso agreedtocollaborateonworkshopplanning,andassistinwritingarticlesaboutprojectresultsfor publicationinlocalnewspapers.FergusCountyExtensionAgentassistedindistributingwaterquality testingkits,providingpubliceducationabouttheprogram.MSUEWQagreedtopreparewatertestkits forsampleanalysis,collaboratewiththeConservationDistrictandExtensionAgentonwellandseptic workshopplanningandadministration,collaboratewiththetestinglaboncompilingwaterquality resultsintoadatabase,mapwaterqualityresults,completeoutcomesandimpactsassessments,and provideassistancetotheConservationDistrictandExtensionAgentindistributingprojectresultsto FergusCountyresidents. SubsidizednitratenitrogentestswereofferedthroughtheWellEducatedprogramtoprivatewell ownersinFergusCounty,whowerewillingtosharegeographiccoordinatesofthewellstested.This facilitatedmappingofnitratenitrogengroundwaterqualitythroughoutthestudyareaandinvolvesthe publicintheevaluationprocessaspartoftheextensioneducationeffort.Topromotetheprogram,well andsepticworkshopswereplannedforcountyresidentstoprovidethemanopportunitytolearnabout theirwellandsepticsystems,howtoprotectthequalityofwaterobtainedfromwells,andhowto assesstheirwaterqualitythroughtheWellEducatedProgram.

 Objectivescompletedduringthe20082009programoffering: Welltestkitswereprovidedtocountyresidentsincludinganinstructionalsheetonsampling proceduresandasubsidizednitratenitrogentest Testingwasavailableovera12monthperiodduringthefallof2008andmostof2009 Watertestresultsweredeliveredtoparticipantsalongwithinterpretivematerialsandfact sheetsonwaterqualityparameters,includingawellandsepticDVDTakingCareofyOurGround Water 2wellandsepticworkshopswereofferedoverthecourseoftheprogram,1inLewistown,and1 inDenton Publicadvertisingcampaignpromotingtheprogramincludingfliers,radioads,andpress releases Mapspreparedwithcountyresults Newspaperarticleprintedinlocalpaperwithprogramresults Outcomeandimpactassessmentsurveys PresentationofresultstoConservationDistrict ThisprogramwasofferedtoassessnitratenitrogengroundwaterqualityinFergusCountyandto increasepublicawarenessonthequalityoftheirdrinkingwater.Theprogramprovidedanarrayof waterqualityresourcesincludinginstructionalmaterials,atestkitpackagemadeforeasysampling,a registrationsheetcontaininginformationontheindividualwelltested,andaneducationalwelland septicDVD.Theseeducationalmaterialsareprovidedtohelphomeownersrecognizetheconnection betweenprivatewellandsepticsystemsandgroundwaterresources.Awelldocumentedandmapped recordofwaterqualitydataforFergusCounty,willserveasausefuleducationaltoolforthe ConservationDistrict,ExtensionAgent,CountySanitarianandotherpublichealthofficialstoincrease publicknowledgeaboutdistributionofnitratenitrogeningroundwaterwithinFergusCounty.Through thiscollaborativeefforttooffertheWellEducatedprogram,theprogrampartnershopetoincrease publicawarenessaboutgroundwaterqualityrelatedtowellandsepticsystemmaintenance,and awarenessofconnectionsbetweenlandmanagementandprotectionofgroundwater. Results: Duringtheprogramoffering,51wellsandonespringweretested.Nitratenitrogentestresultsfor4 wellsexceededtheEPAdrinkingwaterstandardfornitratenitrogen,and9wellsproducedvaluesabove thecommonlyacceptednaturalbackgroundlevelof2mg/l.Almosthalfthewellsproducedwaterwith nondetectablenitratenitrogenlevels(AppendixA). Aquestionnaireassessingwellcharacteristicswascompletedbyprogramparticipantspriortowell watertesting.Responsestothequestionnairerevealedthatmostwellswerefromresidentialareas wherewellwaterwastheprimarydrinkingwatersource.Halfthewellswerelessthan150feetindepth, andpropertysizerangedfromlessthanoneacretoover1,000acres.Allbut1wellwithnitratenitrogen valuesabove2mg/lwerelessthan150ftindepth,threeoutoffourwellswithvaluesabovetheEPA standardwerelessthan50ftindepth. Geographiccoordinatesofwellstestedthroughtheprogramwereprovidedbyprogramparticipants. CoordinateswereusedtomapnitratenitrogenvalueswiththeGeographicInformationSystem mappingtool,ArcMap.ThenitratenitrogenvaluesshowninFigure1andFigure2arerepresentedby bluecircles,eachcircledesignatingtheapproximatelocationofasampledwell,andeachcirclesized proportionaltotherelativenitratenitrogenlevelofthesamplefromthewell.Largecirclesrepresent wellswithhighnitratenitrogenlevelsandsmallcirclesrepresentwellswithrelativelylowtonon

 detectablenitratenitrogenlevels.Shallowgroundwaterishighlyvulnerabletonitratecontamination, especiallyinareaswithshallowsoilsoverlyingcourseunconsolidatedgeologicmaterial.Areasthathave beendesignatedashavingcoarsedepositionalgeology(Quaternary,Quaternaytertiary,andTertiary deposits)havebeenincludedonthemapforreference.Figure1isrepresentativeofallthewellstested throughtheWellEducatedprogram,n=51.About40%ofthewellstestedwerelocatedintheLewistown area,n=19.AdetailedmapwasconstructedfocusingonLewistownwithinatwomileradius,shownin Figure2.Outof19wellsinthisarea,mostcontainedlittletonondetectablelevelsofnitratenitrogen. Threewellscontainedvaluesabovetheassumedbackgroundlevelof2mg/l,butwereundertheEPA drinkingwaterstandardof10mg/l.

 Figure1.FergusCounty20082009WellEducatednitratenitrogenvalues,n=51.

 Figure2.Lewistown20082009WellEducatednitratenitrogenvalues,n=19.

Discussion: Underproperlyfunctioningenvironmentalconditions,backgroundnitratenitrogenconcentrations typicallydontexceed2mg/lunlessinfluencedbygeologicanomaliesand/oranthropogenicactivities (Bauder,Lund,andSinclair,1993).Thegreatestconcentrationofwellssampledwaswithinatwomile radiusofLewistown.ThisislikelyexplainedbygreaterconcentrationofwellsaroundLewistownthan therestofthecounty,theproximityofthesewellstoofficeswheretestingkitswereavailable,and greaterchanceofthesewellownersseeingadvertisementsfortheprogramthatweredistributedin Lewistown.WestofLewistownacrossmuchoftheJudithRiverBasin,theconcentrationsofnitrate nitrogenwerehigher.Samplesexceededthe2mg/lbackgroundlevelinwellslocatedinWarmSpring CreekBasin,BigSpringCreekBasin,RossCreekBasin,CottonwoodCreekBasin,andWolfCreekBasin. Thehighestvaluedetectedat50.7mg/lwasintheWolfCreekBasinwhichencompassesStanfordand Denton.

 Depthtogroundwaterisanimportantconsiderationwhenassessingriskofaquifercontaminationfrom landuseactivities.Participantsintheprogramwereaskedtoreportthedepthoftheirwellinacategory (lessthan50ft,50to150ft,150to300ft,greaterthan300ft,ordontknow).Plottingnitratenitrogen concentrationagainstwelldepthrevealsarelationship.Whilewellsinalldepthcategoriesproducedlow nitrateconcentrations,allhighnitrateconcentrationsappearinshallowwellsandtheinstanceofhigh nitratedropsofftonothinginthewellsover300ftdeep. Figure3.FergusCountynitratenitrogenvaluesversuswelldepthcategory,200809WellEducateddata points(n=41).

Anotherimportantconsiderationinassessingriskofgroundwatercontamination fromlanduseactivityisthetextureofthesubstratebetweenthesurfaceandthe watertable.ThepictureontheleftdepictsasoilprofilefromtheMoccasin AgriculturalResearchStation,locatedinJudithBasin.Thetop1to2feetoftheprofile haveagreaterfinetexturefractionalongwithorganicmatterthatgivesthesoilthe darkcoloration.Belowabout2feetindepth,theprofileisverycourseconsisting primarilyofsandandgravel.Thewaterholdingcapacityofthecoursetextured underlyingmaterialisrelativelylowandoncewaterpercolatestothebottomofthe finetexturedsoil,itwillmoveeasilytogroundwater.Asthiswatermovesitwillcarry thehighlysolublenitratenitrogenfromthesoilwithit.Whennitrogenfertilizeris improperlyappliedtoareaswithsoilprofilessimilarthisone,theriskofmovementof nitrateandothersolublepollutantstogroundwaterishigh.WhiletheMoccasinsoil profilemayberepresentativeofsomesoilsinFergusCounty,itcertainlydoesnot representallsoilprofileswithinthecounty. InadditiontothedatacollectedduringtheWellEducatedProgram,theMontana BureauofMinesandGeology(MBMG)GroundWaterInformationCenter(GWIC) databasewasqueriedinfornitratenitrogenvalues(currentdomesticwelldata through2007).Figure4depictsnitratenitrogendatafrombothGWICandtheWell Educatedprogram.Whilenitratenitrogencanreachgroundwaternaturallythrough mineralizationofnitrogencompoundsinthesoilorweatheringofgeologicparent material,thesevaluestypicallydonotexceed2mg/l.Thehighinstanceofnitrate nitrogenconcentrationsabove2mg/lintheJudithBasinarelikelyduetohuman activity.Municipalwastewatertreatment,useofsepticsystems,storageof concentratedlivestockwaste,andfertilizerapplicationcanallresultinnitrate

 nitrogenmovementtogroundwater.TheMontanaDepartmentofAgricultureiscurrentlyconcludinga studywhichmayshedadditionallightonthelikelysourcesofnitrateinthegroundwateroftheJudith Basin. Figure4.FergusCountynitratenitrogenvaluesfromMBMGGWIC(n=175)and200809WellEducated datapoints(n=51).

 Thegoaloftheprogramwastotest165wellsfornitratenitrogen,whileonly51wellsweretested.To explorethereasonsthatparticipationwas30%oftheoriginaltarget,MSUEWQsurveyedboththe programparticipantsandtheconservationdistrictboard.Twosurveyswerereturnedfromthe participantsoutof52;bothsurveysindicatedthatparticipantswouldparticipateintheprogramagain, andkepttheinformationalmaterialsfromtheWellEducatedprogramforlaterreference.Whilewe didntreceivemoreinformationabouttheprogramfromFergusCountyparticipants,astatewidesurvey from2008indicatedthat99.1percentofprogramparticipantswouldparticipateintheprogramagain and98.1percentsaidtheykepttheprogramfactsheetsforfuturereference.Thisrevealsthatthe programwaseffectiveandwellreceivedwiththepeopleitreached.Conservationdistrictmembers providedadditionalinsightaboutwhyprogramparticipationmayhavebeenlowerthanexpected.Time availabletoparticipatewascitedasthelargestprobablereasonwithotherpossiblereasonsincluding: privacyissues whereresidentsfelttheprogramwasactingasbigbrother ruralresidentsmayhaveahardtimemeetingthesamplingtimeconstraintsformailingofthe sample ruralresidentsmayhavenotheardabouttheprogram,astheydonotfrequentlyvisitthelarger towns someresidentsmayhavefearedtheirtestresultswouldbeoverthestandardfornitrateand justdidntwanttoknow somefelttheprogramwasntadvertisedinthesmallercommunities,andtheresidentswerenot awareoftheprogram. Suggestionsforfutureapproachesinclude: Promotetheprogramthroughthe4Hyouthgroupprogram Pushforlocalbusinessadvertisingtopromotetheprogramandhavetestkitsmade available Utilizefertilizerandchemicaldealers,hardwarestore,gasstations,feedelevators Partners FergusConservationDistrict MontanaStateUniversityExtension MontanaStateUniversityExtensionWaterQualityProgram Contact:Foradditionalinformation: TeresaMowen,MontanaStateUniversity:4069947381,teresa.mowen@montana.edu DarrenCrawford,FergusCountyExtensionAgent:4065353919,dpc@montana.edu DanStilson,FergusCountySoilandWaterConservationDistrict:4065387401,fcd@midrivers.com DeenPomeroy,FergusCountySanitarian:4065357466,sanitarian@co.fergus.mt.us FundedbyDNRCConservationDistrictHB223grantfunding,cooperativelywiththeUSDACSREES NorthernPlainsandMountainsRegionalWaterQualityProjectandMontanaStateUniversityExtension ServiceWaterQualityprogram. Sources: Bauder,J.W.,R.E.Lund,andK.N.Sinclair.Physiographicandlandusecharacteristicsassociatedwith nitratenitrogeninMontanagroundwater.1993.J.Eviron.Qual.22:255262.