Here is a link to a recent paper on the topic from the same general region as where you are: Article The analysis of groundwater nitrate pollution and health ris...

Farrukh Ahmad thank you for this reference research that really helpful in that regard.

NATURAL RESOURCES CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION

- Nitrate: Health Effects in Drinking Water

by

Margaret McCasland, Nancy M. Trautmann, and Keith S. Porter Center for Environmental Research

Nitrate is one of the most common groundwater contaminants in rural areas. It is regulated in drinking water primarily because excess levels can cause methemoglobinemia, or "blue baby" disease. Although nitrate levels that affect infants do not pose a direct threat to older children and adults, they do indicate the possible presence of other more serious residential or agricultural contaminants, such as bacteria or pesticides.

Nitrate in groundwater originates primarily from fertilizers, septic systems, and manure storage or spreading operations. Fertilizer nitrogen that is not taken up by plants, volatilized, or carried away by surface runoff leaches to the groundwater in the form of nitrate. This not only makes the nitrogen unavailable to crops, but also can elevate the concentration in groundwater above the levels acceptable for drinking water quality. Nitrogen from manure similarly can be lost from fields, barnyards, or storage locations. Septic systems also can elevate groundwater nitrate concentrations because they remove only half of the nitrogen in wastewater, leaving the remaining half to percolate to groundwater.

This bulletin focuses on the health effects of nitrate in drinking water, and another bulletin in this series (Fact sheet 400.04, Groundwater: What It Is and How to Protect It), addresses ways of protecting the quality of groundwater supplies.

What Is Nitrate?

Nitrate is an inorganic compound that occurs under a variety of conditions in the environment, both naturally and synthetically. Nitrate is composed of one atom of nitrogen (N) and three atoms of oxygen (O); the chemical symbol for nitrate is NO3. Nitrite (NO2) can be formed from nitrate by a chemical process called reduction. Nitrate does not normally cause health problems unless it is reduced to nitrite.

Nitrate in drinking water is measured either in terms of the amount of nitrogen present or in terms of both nitrogen and oxygen. The federal standard for nitrate in drinking water is 10 milligrams per liter (10 mg/l) nitrate-N, or 45 mg/l nitrate-NO3. when the oxygen is measured as well as the nitrogen. Unless otherwise specified, nitrate levels usually refer only to the amount of nitrogen present, and the usual standard, therefore, is 10 mg/l.

Short-term exposure to drinking water with a nitrate level at or just above the health standard of 10 mg/l nitrate-N is a potential health problem primarily for infants. Babies consume large quantities of water relative to their body weight, especially if water is used to mix powdered or concentrated formulas or juices. Also, their immature digestive systems are more likely than adult digestive tracts to allow the reduction of nitrate to nitrite. In particular, the presence of nitrite in the digestive tract of newborns can lead to a disease called methemoglobinemia.

Infant Feeding Practices to Minimize Intake of Nitrate and Nitrite