Nitrate, nitrogen, bacteria, and viruses are potential health hazards from a drinking water well near an improperly functioning subsurface wastewater system.

• A. Economic costs
• B. Aesthetic contaminants
• C. No risk
• D. Health hazards

Answer: (D)

Drinking water safety hinges on whether contaminants can harm health. Nitrate and nitrogen compounds from wastewater can affect oxygen transport in the blood, which is especially dangerous for infants, and bacteria and viruses in groundwater can cause illness when consumed. In a well near an improperly functioning subsurface wastewater system, these substances pose real health risks to anyone who drinks the water. Other categories describe consequences like cost or taste/odor, but they don’t capture the actual risk to health, and claiming there’s no risk ignores the known dangers. So the best description is health hazards.