Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Elba Water Works

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.

 

24

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

9

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0450 ppm41ND - 0.180 ppm
2019ND40ND
2020ND40ND
20210.205 ppm440.190 ppm - 0.220 ppm
20220.213 ppm440.200 ppm - 0.240 ppm
20230.0125 ppm41ND - 0.0500 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
2018-09-1818090555-002AND
2018-09-1818090555-003AND
2018-09-1818090555-004AND
2018-09-1818090555-001A0.180 ppm
2019-07-3020114951001_IIOCND
2019-07-3020114951002_IIOCND
2019-07-3020114951003_IIOCND
2019-07-3020114951004_IIOCND
2020-04-0220149081001_IIOCND
2020-04-0220149081002_IIOCND
2020-04-0220149081003_IIOCND
2020-04-0220149081004_IIOCND
2021-09-2235664750001_IIOC0.190 ppm
2021-09-2235664750003_IIOC0.200 ppm
2021-09-2235664750002_IIOC0.220 ppm
2021-12-1035683518001_IIOC0.210 ppm
2022-03-2935706619001_IIOC0.200 ppm
2022-03-2935706619002_IIOC0.240 ppm
2022-09-2235748610001_IIOC0.200 ppm
2022-09-2235748610002_IIOC0.210 ppm
2023-01-1935773665001_IIOCND
2023-01-1935773665002_IIOC0.0500 ppm
2023-01-1935773665003_IIOCND
2023-01-1935773665004_IIOCND