Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Blythe

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.

 

34

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

2

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.171 ppm71ND - 1.20 ppm
2019ND50ND
2020ND50ND
2021ND40ND
20221.76 ppm51ND - 8.80 ppm
2023ND80ND

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
2018-02-13CA3310003_006_006-201802131100ND
2018-11-20CA3310003_015_015-201811201100ND
2018-11-20CA3310003_010_010-201811200900ND
2018-11-20CA3310003_030_030-201811200930ND
2018-11-20CA3310003_006_006-201811201000ND
2018-11-20CA3310003_031_031-201811200945ND
2018-11-27CA3310003_006_006-2018112711201.20 ppm
2019-11-20CA3310003_031_031-201911201400ND
2019-11-20CA3310003_015_015-201911201300ND
2019-11-20CA3310003_006_006-201911201245ND
2019-11-20CA3310003_030_030-201911201315ND
2019-12-17CA3310003_010_010-201912171330ND
2020-11-23CA3310003_015_015-202011230700ND
2020-11-23CA3310003_006_006-202011230600ND
2020-11-23CA3310003_010_010-202011230730ND
2020-11-23CA3310003_030_030-202011230630ND
2020-11-23CA3310003_031_031-202011230645ND
2021-11-10CA3310003_006_006-202111100600ND
2021-11-10CA3310003_031_031-202111100700ND
2021-11-10CA3310003_015_015-202111100620ND
2021-11-10CA3310003_030_030-202111100630ND
2022-11-02CA3310003_031_031-202211020730ND
2022-11-02CA3310003_030_030-202211020700ND
2022-11-16CA3310003_006_006-2022111607008.80 ppm
2022-12-12CA3310003_015_015-202212120830ND
2022-12-21CA3310003_010_010-202212210930ND
2023-02-01CA3310003_006_006-202302010700ND
2023-04-05CA3310003_006_006-202304050630ND
2023-07-12CA3310003_006_006-202307120930ND
2023-12-14CA3310003_031_031-202312140831ND
2023-12-14CA3310003_030_030-202312140800ND
2023-12-19CA3310003_006_006-202312190800ND
2023-12-19CA3310003_015_015-202312190700ND
2023-12-20CA3310003_010_010-202312201000ND