Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

High Desert Detention Center

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.

 

15

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND30ND
2019ND10ND
2020ND10ND
2021ND50ND
2022ND40ND
2023ND10ND

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
2018-01-05CA3601182_001_001-201801051015ND
2018-04-24CA3601182_001_001-201804241100ND
2018-07-09CA3601182_001_001-201807091100ND
2019-04-02CA3601182_001_001-201904021135ND
2020-03-19CA3601182_001_001-202003191306ND
2021-01-28CA3601182_001_001-202101281216ND
2021-03-09CA3601182_001_001-202103091140ND
2021-06-08CA3601182_DST_800-202106081215ND
2021-09-21CA3601182_001_001-202109211132ND
2021-12-15CA3601182_001_001-202112151142ND
2022-03-15CA3601182_001_001-202203151207ND
2022-05-25CA3601182_001_001-202205251008ND
2022-07-19CA3601182_001_001-202207191233ND
2022-12-14CA3601182_001_001-202212141113ND
2023-03-16CA3601182_001_001-202303161152ND