Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Brent Utilities Board

Nitrate, a fertilizer chemical, frequently contaminates drinking water due to agricultural and urban runoff, and discharges from municipal wastewater treatment plants and septic tanks. Excessive nitrate in water can cause oxygen deprivation in infants and increase the risk of cancer. Click here to read more about nitrate.

 

18

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

17

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.447 ppm330.350 ppm - 0.610 ppm
20190.450 ppm330.350 ppm - 0.630 ppm
20200.470 ppm330.380 ppm - 0.640 ppm
20210.280 ppm32ND - 0.520 ppm
20220.407 ppm330.250 ppm - 0.600 ppm
20230.450 ppm330.270 ppm - 0.730 ppm

ppm = parts per million

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

EWG Health Guideline: 0.14 ppm

The EWG health guideline of 0.14 parts per million, or ppm, for nitrate and nitrite is based on the equivalent health guideline for nitrate, as defined in a peer-reviewed scientific study by EWG. This guideline represents a one-in-one-million annual cancer risk level.

EPA Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL): 10 ppm

The legal limit for nitrate, established in 1962, was developed to protect infants from acute methemoglobinemia, a life-threatening disorder of oxygen transport in the body. This limit does not fully protect against the risk of cancer and harm to the developing fetus.

ppm = parts per million

All test results

Date Lab ID Result
2018-01-291801290008-20.350 ppm
2018-01-29180129009-10.380 ppm
2018-01-291801290008-10.610 ppm
2019-01-2219010558-0010.630 ppm
2019-01-2219010558-0020.350 ppm
2019-01-2219010561-001A0.370 ppm
2020-03-0920145697001_IIOC0.640 ppm
2020-03-0920145697002_IIOC0.390 ppm
2020-03-0920145697003_IIOC0.380 ppm
2021-02-2535614544001_IIOC0.520 ppm
2021-02-2535614544002_IIOC0.320 ppm
2021-04-1935626987001_IIOCND
2022-03-1035702830001_IIOC0.600 ppm
2022-05-2335719601001_IIOC0.250 ppm
2022-10-2435755186001_IIOC0.370 ppm
2023-01-2435774468001_IIOC0.730 ppm
2023-01-2435774468002_IIOC0.350 ppm
2023-01-2435774468003_IIOC0.270 ppm