Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Bunnell Water Plant

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.

 

11

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

3

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0780 ppm220.0760 ppm - 0.0800 ppm
20190.150 ppm110.150 ppm
20200.119 ppm330.0960 ppm - 0.150 ppm
20210.0575 ppm220.0570 ppm - 0.0580 ppm
20220.230 ppm110.230 ppm
20230.140 ppm220.140 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
2018-06-070.0760 ppm
2018-06-200.0800 ppm
2019-05-080.150 ppm
2020-06-170.0960 ppm
2020-09-160.110 ppm
2020-11-040.150 ppm
2021-06-230.0570 ppm
2021-06-230.0580 ppm
2022-09-220.230 ppm
2023-08-310.140 ppm
2023-08-310.140 ppm