Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Lake Gibson Estates

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.

 

13

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

9

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.300 ppm21ND - 0.600 ppm
20190.340 ppm21ND - 0.680 ppm
20200.360 ppm220.110 ppm - 0.610 ppm
20210.433 ppm32ND - 0.800 ppm
20220.530 ppm220.150 ppm - 0.910 ppm
20230.700 ppm220.670 ppm - 0.730 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
2018-03-12ND
2018-03-120.600 ppm
2019-02-04ND
2019-02-040.680 ppm
2020-02-040.610 ppm
2020-02-040.110 ppm
2021-07-14ND
2021-10-200.500 ppm
2021-10-200.800 ppm
2022-09-260.910 ppm
2022-09-260.150 ppm
2023-02-140.670 ppm
2023-02-140.730 ppm