Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Colorado City Md

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.

 

14

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

7

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.384 ppm330.0220 ppm - 0.590 ppm
20190.250 ppm21ND - 0.500 ppm
20200.321 ppm220.0110 ppm - 0.630 ppm
20210.337 ppm220.0230 ppm - 0.650 ppm
20220.189 ppm330.0160 ppm - 0.530 ppm
20230.300 ppm21ND - 0.600 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
2018-01-170.0220 ppm
2018-01-170.590 ppm
2018-04-240.540 ppm
2019-01-290.500 ppm
2019-01-29ND
2020-12-080.630 ppm
2020-12-080.0110 ppm
2021-11-100.0230 ppm
2021-11-100.650 ppm
2022-03-140.0210 ppm
2022-03-140.530 ppm
2022-11-170.0160 ppm
2023-09-260.600 ppm
2023-10-02ND