Nitrate

Pell City 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.

MORE ABOUT THIS CONTAMINANT

Samples

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

Year	Average result	Samples taken	Detections	Range of results
2013	N/A	0	0	N/A
2014	0.557 ppm	4	4	0.0870 ppm - 0.850 ppm
2015	0.558 ppm	4	4	0.230 ppm - 0.710 ppm
2016	N/A	0	0	N/A
2017	N/A	0	0	N/A
2018	0.540 ppm	4	4	0.280 ppm - 0.800 ppm
2019	0.727 ppm	3	3	0.580 ppm - 0.960 ppm

ppm = parts per million

State and national drinking water standards and health guidelines

EWG Health Guideline 0.14 ppm

The EWG Health Guideline of 0.14 ppm for nitrate was defined by EWG . This health guideline protects against cancer and harm to fetal growth and development.

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
2014-05-14	140500198-2	0.850 ppm
2014-05-14	140500198-4	0.700 ppm
2014-05-14	140500198-3	0.590 ppm
2014-05-14	1405-00198	0.0870 ppm
2015-05-11	1505-00129-4	0.710 ppm
2015-05-11	1505-00129-1	0.700 ppm
2015-05-11	1505-00129-2	0.590 ppm
2015-05-11	1505-00129-3	0.230 ppm
2018-05-15	1805-00293-1	0.800 ppm
2018-05-15	1805-00293-4	0.580 ppm
2018-05-15	1805-00293-2	0.500 ppm
2018-05-15	1805-00293-3	0.280 ppm
2019-05-14	1905-00245-001	0.960 ppm
2019-05-14	1905-00245-002	0.640 ppm
2019-05-14	1905-00245-004	0.580 ppm