• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.271-280
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• 2024

This study examines the European Union (EU)'s policies on managing nitrate contamination in groundwater and provides implications for the future groundwater management in South Korea. Initiated by the 1991 Nitrate Directive, the EU has pursued a multifaceted approach to reduce agricultural nitrate pollution through sustainable ('good') farming practices, regular nitrate level monitoring, and designating Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. Further policy integrations, like the Water Framework Directive and Groundwater Directive, have established comprehensive protection strategies, including the use of pollutant threshold values. Recently, the 2019 Green Deal escalated efforts against nitrates, aligning with broader environmental and climate objectives. This review aims to explore these developments, highlighting key mitigation strategies against nitrate pollution, and providing valuable insights for the future sustainable groundwater nitrate management in South Korea, emphasizing the importance of preventive measures and collaborative efforts to restore and improve groundwater quality.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.91-108
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• 2001

농업영농활동으로 인한 지하수와 지표수오염이 증가함에 따라 유럽연합(EU)과 각국 정부는 상수원보호를 위한 규제를 마련해 나가고 있다. 농민들의 영농활동을 제한하는 이러한 각종 규제에도 불구하고, 농지로부터 유입되는 상수원의 질산염 함량과 농약농도는 계속적으로 증가하고 있다. 지하수 용탈(질산염)과 지표수 유거(인산염, 농약)는 상수원오염은 주범으로 인식되고 있으며, 어느 지역 상수원의 질산염 오염 위험성은 1) 년간 양분균형 계산, 2) 규칙적 토양질산염 분석 등에 의해 파악이 가능하다. 질산염 용탈 이전에 토양질산염 분석을 통한 토양진단은 질산염 용탈 위험성과 작부체계의 지속성에 대한 필수적인 정보들을 제공하게 된다. 유기질비료를 다량 투입하는 유기농업의 지속성은 1) 양분균형의 과다 계산(질소, 인산, 칼리), 2) 토양질산염진단법, 3) 경운층의 토양인산진단법 등에 평가될 수 있다. 상수원을 가장 효과적으로 보호하기 위해서는 토양진단 최적시비전략과 작부체계가 함에 개발되어져야 한다.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.471-484
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• 2002

Alluviums in the Keum River watershed cover an areal extent of $3,029{\;}\textrm{km}^2$ and contain about 8.1 billion tons of groundwater. However, the waters are severely polluted by nitrate, possibly due to the application of nitrogen fertilizer (>250 N kg/ha) on agricultural land. This paper aims to elucidate the pollution status and behaviors of nitrate in alluvial groundwaters in the Keum River watershed area, based on regional hydrogeochemical study. Most of the collected samples (n = 186) are polluted by nitrate (average = 42.2 mg/L, maximum = 295 mg/L). About 29% of the samples have the nitrate concentrations exceeding Korean Drinking Water Standard (44 mg/L $NO_3$). The distribution of nitrate concentrations in the study area is largely dependant on geochemical environments of alluvial aquifers. In particular, the decrease of redox potential of alluvial groundwaters showed a good correlation with the decreases of nitrate, iron, and manganese concentrations. Thus, the change of redox state in alluvial aquifers, likely reflecting their sedimentary environments, controls both the behavior and fate of nitrogen compounds and their natural attenuation (denitrification) in aquifers. A carbon-rich, silty layer within alluvium strata forms a reducing condition and possesses a buffering capacity on nitrate pollution.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.40-53
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• 2008

Groundwater pollution prediction methods have been developed to plan the sustainable groundwater usage and protection from potential pollution in many countries. DRASTIC established by US EPA is the most widely used groundwater vulnerability mapping method. However, the DRASTIC showed limitation in predicting the groundwater contamination because the DRASTIC method is designed to embrace only hydrogeologic factors. Therefore, in this study, three different methods were applied to improve a groundwater pollution prediction method: US EPA DRASTIC, Modified-DRASTIC suggested by Panagopoulos et al. (2006), and LSDG (Land use, Soil drainage, Depth to water, Geology) proposed by Rupert (1999). The Modified-DRASTIC is the modified version of the DRASTIC in terms of the rating scales and the weighting coefficients. The rating scales of each factor were calculated by the statistical comparison of nitrate concentrations in each class using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test; while the weighting coefficients were modified by the statistical correlation of each parameter to nitrate concentrations using the Spearman's rho test. The LSDG is a simple rating method using four factors such as Land use, Soil drainage, Depth to water, and Geology. Classes in each factor are compared by the Wilcoxon rank-sum test which gives a different rating to each class if the nitrate concentration in the class is significantly different. A database of nitrate concentrations in groundwaters from 149 wells was built in Keumsan area. Application of three different methods for assessing the groundwater pollution potential resulted that the prediction which was represented by a correlation (r) between each index and nitrate was improved from the EPA DRASTIC (r = 0.058) to the modified rating (r = 0.245), to the modified rating and weights (r = 0.400), and to the LSDG (r = 0.415), respectively. The LSDG seemed appropriate to predict the groundwater pollution in that it contained land use as a factor of the groundwater pollution sources and the rating of each class was defined by a real pollution nitrate concentration.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.332-335
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• 2005

경안천변의 충적층 지하수를 대상으로 농업활동 및 양수에 수반된 지하수 오염과 수리적 변동에 따른 수리지구화학 변화를 연구하였다. 사행하는 경안천에 의해 넓게 형성된 충적층 지역에서는 사계절 비닐하우스 농업이 활발히 이루어지고 있으며, 이를 위해 강변에 설치된 대형 관정을 통하여 지하수를 대량 양수하고 있다. 이러한 상황은 여러모로 강변여과 현장과 흡사하다. 지하수 내 주요 용존 이온의 공간적 분포는 양수에 수반된 수리적 변동과 밀접한 상관관계를 나타내었다. 즉, 대단위 양수에 의하여 충적 지하수계로의 하천수 유입이 가속화되며, 이에 따른 희석 효과에 의해 충적 지하수의 질산염 농도가 감소하는 경향을 보여주었다.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.57-67
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• 2003

Nitrate contamination by human activities is a serious problem to water-supply in agricultural area. Shallow groundwater is the main source of water-supply, but it is very sensitive to contamination. Study area for nitrate contamination is a region of Iljuk, Kyunggi where is an agricultural area having many livestock facilities in various scales. As a result, the points having availability of incoming of external contaminant are 77%, and the ones over the Drinking Water Limit (DWL) are 32～42%. For a nitrogen isotope analysis, all the points having availability of incoming of external contaminant have $\delta$$^{15}$ N-NO$_3$ values over 5$\textperthousand$, and the points of 59% are strongly affected by nitrogen originated from animal wastes. The major source of nitrate in this area is intensive livestock facilities. Even though a livestock facility had enclosed, it affects groundwater quality for a long time. The chemical property of contaminant source is various according to animal species in surface water, but not in groundwater since some solutes are removed by reactions during an inflow to subsurface.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.105-121
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• 1995

Nitrate contamination problems from groundwater supplies have been documented throughout many countries in the world, including Korea. Nitrate salts can induce methemoglobinemia and possibly human gastric cancer. In farmed areas. intensive agricultural activities have caused a major increase in nitrate loading to groundwater. To determine whether decision makers must take farm-management actions to control the increase of groundwater nitrate concentration and to decide the timing of such actions, it is important to predict groundwater Nitrate levels that would result over time from various farm-management practices. However, the input values such as soil, fertilizer and crop data) used to examine the effects of various farm-management practices on groundwater nitrate level are usually uncertain due to a lack of available information. In this paper. the ease of a community with a nitrate water quality problem is illustrated to examine the effects of various farm-management practices and to show bow to perform, with uncertain information. a time-series analysis on groundwater nitrate levels that would result. from each farm-management practice.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.23-30
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• 2012

Major ions and nitrogen isotopic analyses were performed to determine the geochemical characters and to identify the source of nitrate of the shallow groundwater around agricultural field in the Youngdong area. The pH value of groundwater ranges from 60. to 8.2 (pH 7.2, mean). The average of EC, Eh and DO is 369 ${\mu}S/cm$ (70~729 ${\mu}S/cm$), 165.6 mV (29~383.2 mV), 4.3 mg/L (1.8~8.0 mg/L) respectively. The ion concentraion of groundwater was in the order of $Ca^{2+}$>$Na^{2+}$>$Mg^{2+}$>$K^{2+}$ and ${HCO_3}^-$>${NO_3}^-$>${SO_4}^{2-}$>$Cl^-$>$F^-$. Most of groundwater is Ca-$HCO_3$ type. The groundwater was affected by water-rock interaction in the shallow depth. Some groundwater is Ca-Cl or Na-$HCO_3$ (2.5%) type that was due to agricultural activities. The $NO_3$_N concetration of grondwater range from 10.2 mg/l to 26.9 mg/l, which show that this area is under nitrate pollution. ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ value of the groundwater is the origins of are a combination of animal wastes and man-made fertilizers.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.111-125
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• 2024

The study has examined alterations in groundwater quality by investigating the influence of rainfall on electrical conductivity (EC) and nitrate concentration in the groundwater of the Geum River Basin in South Korea. Mann Kendall and Sen's Slope estimator were employed to analyze the trends and estimate the trend's magnitude. The administrative map of the study area was utilized to assess the trends of these parameters within each administrative region. Seventeen years (from 2005 to 2021) of data on EC, groundwater levels (GWL), precipitation, and six years (from 2015 to 2020) of nitrate concentration data were utilized for this analysis. The results indicate that, in most administrative regions, there has been an increase in nitrate concentration, and EC, whereas precipitation has seen a slight decrease in a downstream and an increasing trend in upstream. The correlation coefficients calculated between these parameters reveal that there is no direct impact of precipitation on nitrate and EC, but a negative correlation was observed between GWL and EC. The most significant increasing trend in nitrate concentration was observed in two districts (Iksan and Gunsan ), which correspond to regions with significant agricultural activity; about 50% of these districts area are used for agricultural activities.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.29-34
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• 2009

In this study, a chloride ion probe as a direct measurement for perchlorate reduction was used to determine whether biological perchlorate reduction was inhibited by other electron acceptors ($O_2$ and ${NO_3}^-$) and to investigate competition of electron acceptors for using electron donors. Profiles of chloride production (= perchlorate reduction) in flasks containing perchlorate reducing populations were monitored by a chloride ion probe. Biological reduction of 2 mM perchlorate was inhibited by 2 mM nitrate that chloride production rate was decreased by 30% compared to perchlorate used as the only electron acceptor and chloride production rate was decreased by 70% when acetate was limited. Reduction of 2mM perchlorate was completely inhibited by oxygen at 7~8 mg/L, regardless of acetate excess / limitation.