Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Middletown 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.

 

14

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

7

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.191 ppm220.00800 ppm - 0.374 ppm
20190.172 ppm220.00600 ppm - 0.337 ppm
20200.159 ppm220.00800 ppm - 0.309 ppm
20210.237 ppm220.00800 ppm - 0.465 ppm
20220.140 ppm21ND - 0.280 ppm
20230.146 ppm440.0110 ppm - 0.289 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
2018-03-01NOX 2004890010.00800 ppm
2018-04-16NOX 2004921520.374 ppm
2019-05-13NOX 2005318920.337 ppm
2019-05-21NOX 2005330820.00600 ppm
2020-05-06NOX 2005747240.00800 ppm
2020-05-14NOX 2005758340.309 ppm
2021-03-30NOX 2006113350.00800 ppm
2021-03-30NOX 2006113360.465 ppm
2022-05-11N300182524 300182530ND
2022-05-11N300182526 3001825430.280 ppm
2023-06-23N300370712 3003707140.0110 ppm
2023-06-23N300370718 3003707200.289 ppm
2023-06-23N300370724 3003707260.0120 ppm
2023-06-23N300370731 3003707330.273 ppm