Assessing the impact of Beneficial Management Practices for controlling nitrate concentrations in well water

摘要

Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) can be used to control nitrate concentrations in wells in agricultural areas. For optimal benefit, it is necessary to identify the best areas for BMP application, to determine the actual impact, and to estimate the time frame of the impact. The concept of well vulnerability can be used for this purpose. An example focused on a municipal well located in a complex moraine aquifer system is provided. A backward vulnerability analysis is used to map optimum areas as well as response time for BMP application, while a forward analysis is used to plot the evolution of the response under various scenarios. The impact is given in terms of the change in concentration in the well water and the time frame for the change to take effect, all relative to a no-BMP scenario. Because all values are relative, denitrification need not be taken into account.