NRD hearing on adding nitrate monitoring Feb. 5

The Upper Republican Natural Resources District will hold a public hearing Tuesday, Feb. 5  for input on adding nitrate monitoring to their rules and regulations. 

Patrons of the district can offer their input during the hearing. It will be held during the board’s regular meeting in Imperial which begins at 1:30 p.m.

Nitrate monitoring

In addition to setting allocations and ensuring compact compliance, the URNRD is also responsible for protecting the quality of groundwater. 

Management added Bruce Curtis to the staff to direct the NRD’s those efforts. Curtis brings extensive experience in water quality management.

One of the areas Curtis has been focusing on is nitrate concentration in the groundwater. 

As a result, the board is proposing a new rule that will require additional reporting in areas where the nitrate concentration matches or exceeds 10 parts per million, the allowable concentration by law. 

Testing of groundwater from irrigation and residential wells in the district has identified several areas where concentrations are at or above those limits.

The rule calls for increased monitoring in these areas. If concentrations increase, further action may be needed to control those increases.