Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Sumner Water Supply

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.

 

12

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

10

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.712 ppm220.689 ppm - 0.735 ppm
20190.427 ppm220.408 ppm - 0.445 ppm
20200.422 ppm220.348 ppm - 0.495 ppm
20210.421 ppm220.229 ppm - 0.612 ppm
20220.453 ppm220.340 ppm - 0.566 ppm
2023ND20ND

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
2018-08-222H80569-010.689 ppm
2018-08-222H80569-020.735 ppm
2019-08-132H90363-030.408 ppm
2019-08-132H90363-040.445 ppm
2020-08-102H00199-010.495 ppm
2020-08-102H00199-020.348 ppm
2021-07-132EG0358-030.612 ppm
2021-07-132EG0358-050.229 ppm
2022-09-132FI0392-030.566 ppm
2022-09-132FI0392-050.340 ppm
2023-09-132GI0364-03ND
2023-09-132GI0364-05ND