Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Alpine Lakes Ranch Water Company

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.

 

25

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

8

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.129 ppm32ND - 0.311 ppm
20190.110 ppm330.0750 ppm - 0.152 ppm
20200.0477 ppm330.0280 ppm - 0.0720 ppm
20210.0767 ppm32ND - 0.186 ppm
20220.0823 ppm108ND - 0.190 ppm
20230.0737 ppm330.0240 ppm - 0.161 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 Result
2018-06-180.311 ppm
2018-08-15ND
2018-08-280.0760 ppm
2019-08-120.152 ppm
2019-08-130.104 ppm
2019-08-280.0750 ppm
2020-09-150.0280 ppm
2020-10-120.0430 ppm
2020-10-120.0720 ppm
2021-09-020.0440 ppm
2021-09-02ND
2021-09-020.186 ppm
2022-02-210.190 ppm
2022-02-21ND
2022-05-090.0230 ppm
2022-05-090.151 ppm
2022-07-210.156 ppm
2022-07-21ND
2022-11-170.0800 ppm
2022-11-220.154 ppm
2022-11-220.0200 ppm
2022-12-290.0490 ppm
2023-02-130.161 ppm
2023-02-130.0240 ppm
2023-08-010.0360 ppm