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<p>The article analyzes the application of the current documents related to reducing nitrate pollution of groundwater bodies used for public water supply in the Pleven administrative region. The requirements of the European legislation are fully implemented in the Bulgarian legislation, but the legislative measures have not led to quick and permanent results, i.e., small drinking water sources contaminated with nitrates still exist. Special attention should be paid to the diffusive sources of pollution (mineral fertilization of soils) since they are of the most significant importance in groundwater contamination with nitrates. For settlements with permanently elevated nitrate content (over 50 mg/L), it is necessary to consider the application of an individual approach in dealing with this long-standing problem: changing the water source, mixing the water from two neighboring water sources or implementing specific purification methods (biological denitrification, ion exchange resins, etc.). We analyzed the data from the monitoring of drinking water carried out by the Regional Health Inspectorate – Pleven and found that in the Pleven region, there are 17 towns or villages (out of a total of 123) for which some of the listed measures should be foreseen. The district’s relative share of the exposed population is 3.2%, comparable to the country’s exposed population for 2004-2007.</p>
</abstract>

The article analyzes the application of the current documents related to reducing nitrate pollution of groundwater bodies used for public water supply in the Pleven administrative region. The requirements of the European legislation are fully implemented in the Bulgarian legislation, but the legislative measures have not led to quick and permanent results, i.e., small drinking water sources contaminated with nitrates still exist. Special attention should be paid to the diffusive sources of pollution (mineral fertilization of soils) since they are of the most significant importance in groundwater contamination with nitrates. For settlements with permanently elevated nitrate content (over 50 mg/L), it is necessary to consider the application of an individual approach in dealing with this long-standing problem: changing the water source, mixing the water from two neighboring water sources or implementing specific purification methods (biological denitrification, ion exchange resins, etc.). We analyzed the data from the monitoring of drinking water carried out by the Regional Health Inspectorate – Pleven and found that in the Pleven region, there are 17 towns or villages (out of a total of 123) for which some of the listed measures should be foreseen. The district’s relative share of the exposed population is 3.2%, comparable to the country’s exposed population for 2004-2007.

Assessment of the Measures Implemented in Bulgarian Legislation to Reduce the Content of Nitrates in Groundwater Used for Public Water Supply

Department of Hygiene, Medical Ecology, Occupational Diseases, and Disaster Medicine, Faculty of Public Health

Journal of Biomedical and Clinical Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The article analyzes the application of the current documents related to reducing nitrate pollution of groundwater bodies used for public water supply in the...

Assessment of the Measures Implemented in Bulgarian Legislation to Reduce the Content of Nitrates in Groundwater Used for Public Water Supply

Published Online: Aug 10, 2023

Page range: 44 - 54

Received: Jan 18, 2023

Accepted: Jun 15, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jbcr-2023-0006

Keywords
nitrates, groundwater, drinking water, agriculture, nitrogen fertilizers

© 2023 Emilia K. Bankova, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Assessment of the Measures Implemented in Bulgarian Legislation to Reduce the Content of Nitrates in Groundwater Used for Public Water Supply

Published Online: Aug 10, 2023

Page range: 44 - 54

Received: Jan 18, 2023

Accepted: Jun 15, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jbcr-2023-0006

Keywordsnitrates, groundwater, drinking water, agriculture, nitrogen fertilizers

© 2023 Emilia K. Bankova, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
nitrates, groundwater, drinking water, agriculture, nitrogen fertilizers