Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Cazadero Water Company Inc.

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.

 

22

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

3

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018N/A00N/A
2019ND50ND
2020ND50ND
20210.295 ppm21ND - 0.590 ppm
2022ND50ND
20230.316 ppm52ND - 0.860 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
2019-03-22CA4900508_006_006-201903221050ND
2019-03-22CA4900508_005_005-201903221010ND
2019-03-22CA4900508_002_002-201903221145ND
2019-03-22CA4900508_001_001-201903221150ND
2019-03-22CA4900508_011_011-201903221030ND
2020-12-17CA4900508_005_005-202012171252ND
2020-12-17CA4900508_006_006-202012171310ND
2020-12-17CA4900508_011_011-202012171238ND
2020-12-17CA4900508_002_002-202012171220ND
2020-12-17CA4900508_001_001-202012171230ND
2021-04-01CA4900508_006_006-202104010933ND
2021-04-01CA4900508_001_001-2021040109170.590 ppm
2022-03-14CA4900508_011_011-202203141039ND
2022-03-14CA4900508_001_001-202203141146ND
2022-11-03CA4900508_005_005-202211031155ND
2022-11-03CA4900508_002_002-202211031250ND
2022-11-03CA4900508_006_006-202211031102ND
2023-03-06CA4900508_001_001-2023030608120.720 ppm
2023-03-06CA4900508_011_011-2023030609120.860 ppm
2023-12-11CA4900508_002_002-202312111330ND
2023-12-11CA4900508_006_006-202312111315ND
2023-12-11CA4900508_005_005-202312111300ND