Providence: A water sample taken from a residential well on Wapping Road in Middletown, RI was found to have nitrate levels above the National Primary Drinking Water Standards as set by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH). As a result, HEALTH is advising nearby homeowners with private wells to have their water tested by a certified laboratory to assure its safety.
HEALTH has no evidence to believe that other wells in this area have amounts of nitrate at this level. Nitrate levels change seasonally, and can be related to septic systems, lawn and agricultural fertilizer use, and runoff.
The health risks for high nitrate concentrations are principally for infants under the age of 6 months. Water with high nitrate should not be given to infants under the age of 6 months or used to make infant formula.
This action comes out of an abundance of caution from HEALTH, as we remind all Rhode Island residents who use wells to get them tested annually.
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