Nitrate in groundwater: a water company perspective

Beeson, S.; Cook, Mike C.

doi:10.1144/1470-9236/04-013

Cited by 19 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…reported by the European Environment Agency (1999) and those of Beeson and Cook (2004) who found a linear increase of 1.3, 0.87 and 0.5 mg NO 3 L -1 a -1 for three sites in the Chalk of eastern England. However these authors applied a different model to data from the Lincolnshire Limestone which used two separate trendlines for wet and dry periods and gave a zero overall trend.…”

Section: Nitrate Status Of Uk Groundwatersmentioning

confidence: 70%

Screening for long-term trends in groundwater nitrate monitoring data

Stuart

Chilton

Kinniburgh

et al. 2007

QJEGH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A large body of UK groundwater nitrate data has been analysed by linear regression in order to define past trends and estimate future concentrations. Robust regression was used. The datasets showed too many irregularities to justify more traditional time series approaches such as ARIMA-type methods. Tests were included for lack of linearity, outliers, seasonality and a break in the trend (by piecewise linear regression). Of the series analysed 21% showed a significant improvement in the overall fit when a break was included. Half of these indicated an increase in trend with time. Significant seasonality was found in about one third of the series, with the largest nitrate concentrations usually found during winter months. Inclusion of nearby water level data as an additional explanatory variable successfully accounted for much of this seasonality. Based on 309 datasets from 191 distinct sites, nitrate concentrations were found to be rising at an average of 0.34 mg NO 3 L-1 a-1. In 2000, 34% of the sites analysed exceeded the 50 mg L-1 EU drinking water standard. If present trends continue, 41% could exceed the standard by 2015. We explored an alternative to the previously-proposed WFD aggregation approach for estimating trends in whole groundwater bodies (the 'Grath' approach, spatially average then find the trend). We first determined the trends for individual boreholes and then spatially averaged these. This approach preserves information about the spatial distribution of trends within the water body and is less sensitive to 'missing data'.

show abstract

Section: Nitrate Status Of Uk Groundwatersmentioning

confidence: 70%

Screening for long-term trends in groundwater nitrate monitoring data

Stuart

Chilton

Kinniburgh

et al. 2007

QJEGH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Beeson and Cook (2004) showed that nitrate in abstracted groundwater from the Lincolnshire Limestone decreased during periods of low water levels. This could be interpreted as a loss of rapid routes to points of abstraction for high nitrate modern recharge in the upper part of the aquifer due to the low water level.…”

Section: 3mentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the impact of climate change on future nitrate concentrations in groundwater of the UK

Stuart

Gooddy

Bloomfield

et al. 2011

Science of The Total Environment

145

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper reviews the potential impacts of climate change on nitrate concentrations in groundwater of the UK using a Source-Pathway-Receptor framework. Changes in temperature, precipitation quantity and distribution, and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will affect the agricultural nitrate source term through changes in both soil processes and agricultural productivity. Non-agricultural source terms, such as urban areas and atmospheric deposition, are also expected to be affected. The implications for the rate of nitrate leaching to groundwater as a result of these changes are not yet fully understood but predictions suggest that leaching rate may increase under future climate scenarios. Climate change will affect the hydrological cycle with changes to recharge, groundwater levels and resources and flow processes. These changes will impact on concentrations of nitrate in abstracted water and other receptors, such as surface water and groundwater-fed wetlands.The implications for nitrate leaching to groundwater as a result of climate changes are not yet well enough understood to be able to make useful predictions without more site-specific data.The few studies which address the whole cycle show likely changes in nitrate leaching ranging from limited increases to a possible doubling of aquifer concentrations by 2100.These changes may be masked by nitrate reductions from improved agricultural practices, but a range of adaption measures need to be identified. Future impact may also be driven by economic responses to climate change. The study draws on extensive literature mainly from the UK and so presents a UK-based perspective, although literature for other temperate climates is included to augment that from Keywordsthe UK and to demonstrate that the proposed framework and general conclusions have a wider applicability.The principal N input to UK groundwater is derived from manures, fertilisers, sewage sludges and crop residues in agricultural areas (DEFRA, 2006). There are also smaller inputs from urban point sources and aerial deposition (Wakida and Lerner, 2005). N fertiliser can be applied as urea or ammonia, as well as nitrate, but the non-nitrate forms are generally converted rapidly to nitrate in the soils of the UK (MAFF, 1999). A small percentage of applied N is lost to the atmosphere as NH 3 , NO or N 2 O (Destouni and Darracq, 2009;Skiba et al., 1997;Sommer and Hutchings, 1995). A proportion of soil N is leached as nitrate from the base of the soil. This is either stored in, or transmitted through, the unsaturated zone to groundwater. groundwater. They found that although an ensemble average suggests there will be about a 5% reduction in annual potential groundwater recharge across the study area, this was not statistically significant at the 95% confidence level and more importantly observed that the spread of results for simulated changes in annual potential groundwater recharge range from a 26% decrease to a 31% increase by the 2080s, with ten GCMs predicting a decrease and three a...

show abstract

“…Nitrate (NO 3 ) pollution has become a significant issue in many countries owing to its adverse effects on human health and the environment, such as the eutrophication of surface water (Vitousek et al, 1997;Mason, 2002) and groundwater nitrate contamination (Beeson and Cook, 2004;Rao, 2006;Rivett et al, 2007). The microorganisms inhabiting either natural environments or artificial reactors have developed one or more mechanisms to reduce nitrate to maintain the N-cycle balance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of microbial communities inside and outside of a denitrification hotspot in confined groundwater

Zeng

Hosono

Ohta

et al. 2016

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A denitrification hotspot was detected in Kumamoto groundwater in a previous study, little information is concerned with the microbial community profile including denitrifier. Seven samples from inside and outside of the hotspot were collected to analyze the bacterial, archaeal, and denitrifier community using a cloning library approach. The results showed that the microbial diversity and distribution were distinct among the zones. Major operational taxonomic units closely related to Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria were found in the denitrification hotspot. Additionally, type I methylotrophic bacteria, such as Methylobacter and Methylomonas, only inhabited the hotspot zone. A positive association between methanogenic archaea and methylotrophic bacteria was observed. Interestingly, acidic ammonia-oxidizing archaea were detected in the neutral groundwater environment. In addition, gene-specific analysis targeting nirS indicated that the majority of denitrifiers belonged to the Proteobacteria including Sulfuritalea hydrogenivorans, Pseudomonas balearica and Sulfuricella denitrificans. Based on the comparative analysis of microbial communities and physiochemical parameters inside and outside of the denitrification hotspot, the anaerobic environment with organic compounds and nitrate could support the biotic reduction of nitrate in confined groundwater.

show abstract

Nitrate in groundwater: a water company perspective

Cited by 19 publications

References 2 publications

Screening for long-term trends in groundwater nitrate monitoring data

Screening for long-term trends in groundwater nitrate monitoring data

A review of the impact of climate change on future nitrate concentrations in groundwater of the UK

Comparison of microbial communities inside and outside of a denitrification hotspot in confined groundwater

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About