Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Coachella Valley Water District: I.d. No. 8

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.

 

21

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

21

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.733 ppm330.520 ppm - 1.10 ppm
20190.566 ppm550.420 ppm - 1.000 ppm
20201.70 ppm331.000 ppm - 2.50 ppm
20210.620 ppm440.440 ppm - 0.940 ppm
20220.607 ppm330.440 ppm - 0.910 ppm
20230.813 ppm330.660 ppm - 1.10 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
2018-04-11CA3310048_004_004-2018041109371.10 ppm
2018-04-11CA3310048_007_007-2018041109100.580 ppm
2018-07-02CA3310048_014_014-2018070209310.520 ppm
2019-05-14CA3310048_007_007-2019051410300.480 ppm
2019-05-15CA3310048_004_004-2019051508001.000 ppm
2019-07-17CA3310048_007_007-2019071708100.420 ppm
2019-07-31CA3310048_014_014-2019073108500.490 ppm
2019-10-17CA3310048_007_007-2019101712000.440 ppm
2020-04-08CA3310048_007_007-2020040808451.000 ppm
2020-07-08CA3310048_014_014-2020070807451.60 ppm
2020-07-14CA3310048_004_004-2020071407202.50 ppm
2021-02-16CA3310048_014_014-2021021607300.530 ppm
2021-02-16CA3310048_004_004-2021021611300.940 ppm
2021-02-17CA3310048_007_007-2021021707300.440 ppm
2021-12-02CA3310048_014_014-2021120207490.570 ppm
2022-01-06CA3310048_004_004-2022010609400.910 ppm
2022-02-01CA3310048_014_014-2022020107400.470 ppm
2022-02-16CA3310048_007_007-2022021607350.440 ppm
2023-01-10CA3310048_004_004-2023011007401.10 ppm
2023-06-21CA3310048_014_014-2023062108150.660 ppm
2023-07-11CA3310048_007_007-2023071108100.680 ppm