Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Hawkins Water Co-cal Water Service (puc)

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.

 

8

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

3

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND10ND
2019ND10ND
20200.611 ppm21ND - 1.22 ppm
20210.580 ppm110.580 ppm
2022ND10ND
20230.260 ppm21ND - 0.520 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
2018-05-16CA4900546_001_001-201805161345ND
2019-05-28CA4900546_001_001-201905280955ND
2020-05-18CA4900546_001_001-2020051812201.22 ppm
2020-08-18CA4900546_001_001-202008181240ND
2021-05-18CA4900546_001_001-2021051813000.580 ppm
2022-05-18CA4900546_001_001-202205180810ND
2023-05-16CA4900546_001_001-202305160810ND
2023-08-29CA4900546_001_001-2023082908100.520 ppm