Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Gretna, City of

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)

5

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.103 ppm21ND - 0.206 ppm
20190.0360 ppm21ND - 0.0720 ppm
20200.0980 ppm21ND - 0.196 ppm
20210.0610 ppm41ND - 0.244 ppm
20220.109 ppm220.0250 ppm - 0.193 ppm
20230.102 ppm21ND - 0.203 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
2018-01-300.206 ppm
2018-01-30ND
2019-07-01ND
2019-07-010.0720 ppm
2020-06-150.196 ppm
2020-06-15ND
2021-05-18ND
2021-05-18ND
2021-06-28ND
2021-07-080.244 ppm
2022-07-050.193 ppm
2022-07-050.0250 ppm
2023-07-06ND
2023-07-060.203 ppm