Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

University of Connecticut - Main Campus

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.

 

12

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

7

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.492 ppm220.0850 ppm - 0.899 ppm
20190.471 ppm220.0810 ppm - 0.861 ppm
20200.519 ppm220.0980 ppm - 0.940 ppm
20210.454 ppm220.159 ppm - 0.748 ppm
20220.355 ppm220.0900 ppm - 0.620 ppm
20230.470 ppm220.0800 ppm - 0.860 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
2018-12-12NOX 2005158920.0850 ppm
2018-12-12NOX 2005158950.899 ppm
2019-11-19NOX 2005572590.0810 ppm
2019-11-19NOX 2005572530.861 ppm
2020-04-20NOX 2005729650.0980 ppm
2020-04-20NOX 2005729660.940 ppm
2021-09-14300059939 3000599400.159 ppm
2021-09-14300059942 3000599430.748 ppm
2022-12-06CM980530.0900 ppm
2022-12-06CM980540.620 ppm
2023-05-11CO034650.0800 ppm
2023-05-11CO034660.860 ppm