Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Clare Water Department

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.

 

6

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

6

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.371 ppm110.371 ppm
20190.244 ppm110.244 ppm
20200.321 ppm110.321 ppm
20210.378 ppm110.378 ppm
20220.315 ppm110.315 ppm
20230.270 ppm110.270 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 Lab ID Result
2018-08-20BH878490.371 ppm
2019-08-07BP394800.244 ppm
2020-08-24BW287420.321 ppm
2021-09-08CC893710.378 ppm
2022-08-25CI852270.315 ppm
2023-07-24CP608120.270 ppm