Water Quality

Water Quality

Beginning in 2017, the Upper Republican Natural Resources District (URNRD) will sample more than 500 wells across the District to estimate the quality of our District’s water. While public water supplies are routinely monitored, water quality in private wells is left to the well owner or well water user to test. The URNRD’s water quality program assists well owners and users by sampling and testing private wells. Private well owners and users may acquire water test kits from the URNRD to determine the water quality in wells that the District does not check. 

Water Test Kits

The URNRD provides drinking water test kits to individuals in the District for domestic and livestock water wells at no charge. Water samples can be analyzed for multiple contaminants, ensuring the safety of your family's drinking water. Water test kits are available at the main URNRD office and should be returned to the office the same day, if possible, that water samples are taken. Water samples taken with the test kits should be returned to the URNRD office by 1 p.m. Monday-Wednesday.

For wells that are not already sampled by the District, the URNRD advises residents to take advantage of the free program and have their drinking water tested for contaminants, especially nitrate. High nitrate-nitrogen concentrations (> 10 milligrams per liter (mg/l) or >10 parts per million (ppm)) in drinking water can cause methemoglobinemia, or blue baby syndrome, in infants less than six months old. Pregnant women, those expecting to be pregnant, nursing women, and the elderly should also avoid water that contains a high nitrate concentration. 

Some locations in the District are also known to have high concentrations of arsenic and uranium. If you have a concern about these contaminants, at a cost to the owner, a special kit from the URNRD can be obtained to test for those specific contaminants.