Abstract
Water samples for nitrate testing were collected from over 200 wells in Kent and Sussex counties in Delaware over an 18-month period in areas with different agricultural land use. Nearly 70% of the wells were individual home water supplies. The rest of the wells, constructed from 3·2-cm diameter PVC pipe, were installed at selected locations. Water samples were also collected from monitoring wells around two potato-growing sites, on irrigated corn and soybean areas, a field spread with poultry manure, two animal-waste lagoon sites, and near stockpiled poultry manure. Certain agricultural activities cause higher nitrate concentrations in the ground water. Poultry manure has increased nitrate concentrations in the ground water in southern Delaware more than commercial fertilizer. Highest nitrate concentrations are found in areas with excessively well-drained soils. Some clay-lined, animal-waste lagoons may cause ground-water contamination. Potato growing in Delaware is not causing high nitrate concentrations in the water table aquifer because of the heavier soils that are not as susceptible to nitrite leaching.
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