Prior to coming to the clinic, run your cold tap for three minutes then collect about one cup of water in a plastic baggie or clean jar. Keep the water cool until arrival at the clinic. If the clinic is extremely busy, the wait may extend to about ten minutes. Over the years, the program has gained valuable information linking well characteristics and nitrate concentrations. Age of the wells were also highly correlated with nitrate levels.
Extra samples are free too.
Also, you may collect neighbors or relatives samples and bring them in for analysis. If you have a water treatment unit that reduces or removes nitrate-nitrogen such as a reverse osmosis unit or a distiller, feel free to collect a sample before treatment and after treatment to ensure the treatment system is working properly. It is not necessary to collect a sample from before and after a water softener. A softener does not reduce nitrate and the nitrate result will be the same before and after treatment. This is a statewide program.