It’s long been known Long Island’s water has been contaminated by dangerous chemicals such as PFAS and dioxane. But it also now faces a new, emerging threat to its groundwater quality: nitrate pollution. Groundwater aquifers, the sole source of drinking water for Nassau and Suffolk Counties, are increasingly contaminated by nitrates originating from various sources including cesspools, septic systems, fertilizers, and airborne pollutants.

Sources of Nitrate Pollution in LI Drinking Water

Nitrate levels in Long Island’s aquifers, especially in areas like Suffolk County and northern Nassau County, are on the rise due to:

  • Sanitary Wastewater Treatment Plants: The primary source of nitrogen to Long Island Sound is from sanitary wastewater treatment plants – not a surprise, given that nearly nine million people live within the watershed.
  • Cesspools and Septic Systems: These systems contribute nitrates and other contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and household chemicals.
  • Fertilizers: Used extensively in agriculture and residential landscaping, fertilizers often contain nitrates that leach into groundwater.
  • Air Pollutants: Industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust can also contribute to nitrate pollution.

Hazards of Nitrates in Water

  • Risk in Infants: According to the New York State Department of Health, Infants are highly sensitive to nitrates. Infants can develop methemoglobinemia (“blue baby syndrome”), a condition where nitrates convert to nitrite in the body, reducing oxygen-carrying capacity in the blood.
  • Risk in Vulnerable Groups: Older children and adults are typically less affected by nitrate contamination, but individuals with gastrointestinal disorders like achlorhydria or atrophic gastritis, which reduce stomach acid and promote nitrite production, face an increased risk of illness compared to the general population.
  • Environmental Effects: Excess nitrogen can cause toxic algal blooms that lead to low oxygen conditions, fish kills, and degraded wetlands and marine habitats. Nitrogen also contaminates the groundwater which is the sole source of Long Island’s drinking water.

Solution: Reverse Osmosis Systems

Reverse osmosis (RO) systems offer an effective solution to remove nitrates and other contaminants from drinking water:

  • Mechanism: RO systems use a semipermeable membrane to selectively filter out nitrates and other impurities from water.
  • Effectiveness: They can achieve high removal rates, typically eliminating 95% or more of nitrates from water.
  • Additional Benefits: Some advanced RO systems include stages for further purification, ensuring clean and safe drinking water.
  • Maintenance: Regular monitoring and maintenance of RO systems are essential to sustain their effectiveness over time.

At Simply PURE Water Filtration, we offer advanced reverse osmosis (RO) systems that will remove dangerous contaminants from your water and make sure it’s healthy, safe, and great tasting.

Conclusion

Concerned about nitrate pollution or other contaminants in your water? Take the first step today and request a free water quality analysis from us. By addressing the sources of nitrate pollution and embracing effective solutions like RO systems, Simply PURE can ensure that you and your family will continue to enjoy clean and sustainable drinking water, wherever you live on Long Island.

The Problem of Nitrogen in LI Drinking Water

About Simply PURE Water Filtration Services

Living in and serving the Long Island community, we strive to make sure everyone has access to clean, healthy water. We have the experience, knowledge, and industry-leading technology to provide clean water solutions for water impurities, contaminants, hard water, bad tasting/odors, well water, acidity & pH regulations.

Proud members of the WQA (Water Quality Association), and the EWQA (Eastern Water Quality Association), we adhere to strict guidelines and the WQA code of ethics. As a Pentair True Blue Partner and Authorized Distributor of Pentair Products, there’s nothing comparable to the performance, and efficiency of our whole house purification systems, water softeners, neutralizers, whole-house filters, and alkaline reverse osmosis systems for drinking in the convenience of your home.

NSF Water Filtration System
Pentair Water Filtration System

Our products are all NSF / ANSI certified, meeting the highest safety standards and quality performance. Providing our community with only the best experience of high quality water that’s Simply PURE from our family to yours!

Simply PURE utilizes accurate testing methods before and after system installation, as well as annual maintenance of all your water treatment equipment. Our Revolutionary Custom Built Water Treatment systems upon the completion of a Free In-Home Water Analysis, or an in-depth Comprehensive Water Analysis of your choice sent to our Certified Laboratory.

Customers Frequently Ask..

The answer to this question depends on which kind of drinking water you’re talking about. There are multiple agencies responsible for regulating water quality in the U.S., and there are some who are more critical about the way it’s handled.

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in charge of overseeing the water that comes out of your tap. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees and regulates the quality of bottled water.

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Individual states are responsible for regulating water that is bottled and sold within their borders. Finally, your municipality must make sure it is following federal and state standards regarding water quality.

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The EPA does not regulate private wells, and rules for testing differ from state to state. In many cases, it is the homeowner’s responsibility to make sure their well water is safe.

Certain things can affect the flavor, odor, and appearance of your tap water, not all of them are necessarily harmful.

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Many people with public water can taste the chlorine, although the most noticeable problems tend to come from private wells. Contaminants like sulfur can impact the smell, while iron will cause discoloration and staining.

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The overall amount of total dissolved solids (TDS) in your tap water will definitely affect the taste, smell, and appearance. While many of these issues are not serious concerns, they can certainly be a nuisance. Water filtration systems, including a high-efficiency water softener to reduce hardness, can provide solutions.

This process is called “reverse” osmosis because the pressure forces the water to flow in the reverse direction (from the concentrated solution to the dilute solution) to the flow direction (from the dilute to the concentrated) in the process of natural osmosis. RO removes ionized salts, colloids, and organic molecules down to a molecular weight of 100.

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You can get a whole-house RO, but more commonly, a point-of-use RO system would be on your countertop or installed under the sink. They’re great for treating water for cooking and drinking, but they don’t usually produce large amounts of treated water — more like 3 to 10 gallons a day. For that reason, typically people choose to install RO-treated faucets in the most popular areas of the home such as kitchens and bathrooms, as opposed to installing it for every drinking tap. Just like any other kind of filter technology, reverse osmosis systems require regular maintenance. That includes periodically replacing the unit’s prefilters, postfilters, and membrane modules.

Due to the media attention Flint, Michigan, received over its water crisis, a lot of people have questions about lead in public water systems around the U.S.

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Lead (as well as copper) typically enters the public supply by leaching into water from corroded fixtures and outdated plumbing. Homes built before 1986 will likely have plumbing with copper pipes using solder that may contain lead.

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Lead can cause serious negative health effects, especially in children. The challenge is that it is undetectable by human senses. You can check with your local water authority for information about lead levels, but it’s important to note that the CDC and EPA say there’s no level of lead recognized as safe for consumption.

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If you have concerns about the presence of lead in your water, you can have it tested in a state-certified laboratory. You can also read more in our article on lead in drinking water.

Softening hard water can mitigate many of its objectionable effects. Water softening can be done either at point of entry or point of use. One of the unique advantages offered by point-of-use water softening is the opportunity for homemakers to have either hard or soft water for drinking. This choice is not available if the water supply is softened municipally. Hardness minerals can be reduced in water to make it “softer” by using one of three basic means:

  • Chemical softening—lime softening, hot and cold; lime-soda softening
  • Membrane separation softening—Nano filtration
  • Cation exchange softening—inorganic, carbonaceous, or organic base exchangers
  • Softening water for home needs is done almost exclusively through the use of cation exchange.

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Customer Testimonials

"Absolutely amazing service from beginning to end. Trustworthy and reliable to work with. And the water taste!! It’s incredible the difference after we installed our water filtration system throughout our house. Also knowing my kids are drinking the purest of water is the biggest game changer. I would absolutely recommend Vinny and staff."

Randi Demetriou 

"We had a recent installation done by Vinny at Simply PURE and we couldn’t be happier. Vinny is reputable, reliable, efficient and the service is great. The water is so clean and tastes great, we don’t have to think twice about what is coming out of our faucet! Thank you Vinny!

Mike D.