Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Pg&e Helms Support Facility

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.

 

13

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND50ND
2019ND30ND
2020ND10ND
2021ND10ND
2022ND10ND
2023ND20ND

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
2018-01-12CA1000472_001_001-201801121300ND
2018-03-08CA1000472_001_001-201803081300ND
2018-05-11CA1000472_001_001-201805111245ND
2018-07-12CA1000472_001_001-201807121300ND
2018-11-07CA1000472_001_001-201811071300ND
2019-03-14CA1000472_001_001-201903141230ND
2019-06-20CA1000472_001_001-201906201330ND
2019-09-26CA1000472_001_001-201909261250ND
2020-12-14CA1000472_001_001-202012141130ND
2021-07-06CA1000472_001_001-202107061200ND
2022-05-02CA1000472_001_001-202205021330ND
2023-06-19CA1000472_001_001-202306191100ND
2023-12-21CA1000472_001_001-202312211200ND