Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Bellevue Municipal Utilities

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)

8

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.431 ppm220.398 ppm - 0.463 ppm
20190.466 ppm220.380 ppm - 0.551 ppm
20200.212 ppm220.211 ppm - 0.213 ppm
20210.334 ppm220.268 ppm - 0.400 ppm
2022ND20ND
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
2018-10-092J80383-030.398 ppm
2018-10-092J80383-040.463 ppm
2019-10-222J90739-010.380 ppm
2019-10-222J90739-020.551 ppm
2020-10-142J00439-010.213 ppm
2020-10-142J00439-020.211 ppm
2021-10-122EJ0402-010.400 ppm
2021-10-122EJ0402-020.268 ppm
2022-10-181FJ1715-01ND
2022-10-181FJ1715-02ND
2023-10-302GJ0822-01ND
2023-10-302GJ0822-02ND