Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Norwich Public Utilities

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.

 

17

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

7

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.740 ppm330.0810 ppm - 2.00 ppm
2019ND30ND
20200.667 ppm31ND - 2.00 ppm
20210.975 ppm220.150 ppm - 1.80 ppm
20220.677 ppm32ND - 1.70 ppm
20230.601 ppm32ND - 1.74 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
2018-05-11PH-0453-6304155NOX0.0810 ppm
2018-05-11PH-0453-6304156NOX2.00 ppm
2018-05-11PH-0453-6304154NOX0.140 ppm
2019-08-29PH-0453-6304853NOXND
2019-08-29PH-0453-6304855NOXND
2019-09-19PH-0453-6304854NOXND
2020-06-10PH-0453-6305938NOX2.00 ppm
2020-08-03PH-0453-6305937NOXND
2020-08-03PH-0453-6305936NOXND
2021-05-24PH-0453-6307269NOX0.150 ppm
2021-06-23PH-0453-6307271NOX1.80 ppm
2022-01-13PH-0453-6308027NOX0.330 ppm
2022-02-03PH-0453-6308029NOX1.70 ppm
2022-11-21PH-0453-6308028NOXND
2023-11-14D3K1545-01NO3U0.0638 ppm
2023-11-14D3K1545-02NO3UND
2023-11-14D3K1545-03NO3U1.74 ppm