Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Costilla County Ws

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.

 

18

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

17

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.280 ppm32ND - 0.510 ppm
20190.413 ppm330.240 ppm - 0.600 ppm
20200.500 ppm330.230 ppm - 0.680 ppm
20210.357 ppm330.200 ppm - 0.460 ppm
20220.680 ppm330.520 ppm - 0.890 ppm
20230.577 ppm330.280 ppm - 0.760 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
2018-10-160.510 ppm
2018-10-16ND
2018-10-160.330 ppm
2019-08-230.400 ppm
2019-08-230.240 ppm
2019-08-230.600 ppm
2020-12-160.680 ppm
2020-12-160.230 ppm
2020-12-210.590 ppm
2021-11-300.410 ppm
2021-11-300.200 ppm
2021-11-300.460 ppm
2022-10-240.890 ppm
2022-10-240.630 ppm
2022-10-240.520 ppm
2023-03-210.760 ppm
2023-03-270.690 ppm
2023-03-270.280 ppm