Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Bristol Water Department

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.

 

26

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

12

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.651 ppm550.0972 ppm - 1.85 ppm
20191.05 ppm440.111 ppm - 2.42 ppm
20200.695 ppm440.135 ppm - 1.33 ppm
20210.582 ppm54ND - 1.40 ppm
20220.723 ppm440.101 ppm - 1.38 ppm
20230.790 ppm440.0989 ppm - 1.60 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
2018-01-10D8A0565-04NOX0.107 ppm
2018-01-10D8A0565-03NOX1.09 ppm
2018-01-10D8A0565-02NOX1.85 ppm
2018-01-10D8A0565-01NOX0.0972 ppm
2018-03-07D8C0471-01NOXR0.117 ppm
2019-03-27D9C2628-01NOX0.111 ppm
2019-03-27D9C2628-04NOX0.117 ppm
2019-03-27D9C2628-03NOX1.54 ppm
2019-03-27D9C2628-02NOX2.42 ppm
2020-01-31D0A2597-01NOX0.135 ppm
2020-01-31D0A2597-02NOX0.137 ppm
2020-01-31D0A2597-03NOX1.33 ppm
2020-01-31D0A2597-04NOX1.18 ppm
2021-02-25D1B2168-01NOX0.0706 ppm
2021-02-25D1B2168-04NOX1.40 ppm
2021-02-25D1B2168-03NOX1.35 ppm
2021-02-25D1B2168-02NOX0.0860 ppm
2021-12-1621121612-003-IOCND
2022-04-07D2D0784-01NOX0.101 ppm
2022-04-07D2D0784-02NOX0.102 ppm
2022-04-07D2D0784-03NOX1.38 ppm
2022-04-07D2D0887-01NOX1.32 ppm
2023-02-23D3B2332-01NO3U1.60 ppm
2023-02-23D3B2332-02NO3U0.0989 ppm
2023-02-23D3B2332-03NO3U1.36 ppm
2023-02-23D3B2332-04NO3U0.101 ppm