A Comparative Study of Nitrate Levels at Three Adjacent Ground‐Water Sources in a Chalk Catchment Area West of London

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Abstract
A comparison of the concentrations of nitrate in three public supply borehole sources which abstract water from the Chalk in a relatively local area, led to a more detailed study of the possible causes of high nitrate values at one of the sources and the geological and recharge characteristics of all three.The local catchment area of the high nitrate source is actively fertilized, both by sludge spreading and the application of artificial fertilizers. The catchment areas of the other two ground‐water sources are not subject to the same intensive agricultural activity. It is suggested the differences in water quality between the three supplies are related to the variations in land use and the local hydrogeology.The study makes it clear that due to local influences each source may have a unique hydrogeochemical character irrespective of being located in the same regional geological catchment area.More detailed investigations on the origins of the nitrate in the abstracted ground waters are planned as a follow‐up to this initial study.