Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Calmar 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)

8

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.413 ppm220.374 ppm - 0.451 ppm
20190.432 ppm220.425 ppm - 0.438 ppm
20200.488 ppm220.156 ppm - 0.820 ppm
20210.125 ppm21ND - 0.249 ppm
20220.0860 ppm21ND - 0.172 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
2018-07-102G80178-030.374 ppm
2018-10-022J80163-030.451 ppm
2019-07-102G90311-030.438 ppm
2019-10-012J90120-030.425 ppm
2020-07-142G00388-030.820 ppm
2020-10-132J00396-030.156 ppm
2021-07-061EG0412-01ND
2021-10-052EJ0091-010.249 ppm
2022-07-141FG1677-01ND
2022-10-122FJ0323-010.172 ppm
2023-07-112GG0216-01ND
2023-10-032GJ0071-01ND