Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Mulberry, 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.

 

20

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

1

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0900 ppm21ND - 0.180 ppm
2019ND20ND
20200.0128 ppm42ND - 0.0270 ppm
20210.0110 ppm21ND - 0.0220 ppm
20220.0325 ppm21ND - 0.0650 ppm
20230.0158 ppm85ND - 0.0340 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
2018-07-120.180 ppm
2018-07-12ND
2019-06-05ND
2019-06-05ND
2020-06-09ND
2020-06-090.0240 ppm
2020-08-04ND
2020-08-040.0270 ppm
2021-07-20ND
2021-07-200.0220 ppm
2022-07-070.0650 ppm
2022-07-07ND
2023-04-130.0250 ppm
2023-04-130.0340 ppm
2023-06-080.0210 ppm
2023-06-080.0250 ppm
2023-07-24ND
2023-07-240.0210 ppm
2023-08-09ND
2023-08-09ND