Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Lewiston

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.

 

39

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

18

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.589 ppm53ND - 2.43 ppm
20192.93 ppm85ND - 7.19 ppm
20200.988 ppm64ND - 2.51 ppm
20210.456 ppm51ND - 2.28 ppm
20221.69 ppm74ND - 5.71 ppm
20230.186 ppm83ND - 1.19 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
2018-02-21I180221045-0010.413 ppm
2018-02-22I180223004-0010.1000 ppm
2018-10-10N181010052-001ND
2018-12-13N181213001-0012.43 ppm
2018-12-13N181213011-001ND
2019-01-24I190124017-001ND
2019-04-23I190423067-0022.61 ppm
2019-04-23I190423067-001ND
2019-05-15I190516039-0017.04 ppm
2019-07-17N190717057-0012.24 ppm
2019-08-14N190814075-0024.34 ppm
2019-08-14N190814075-001ND
2019-12-23N191224014-0017.19 ppm
2020-02-19I200219035-0011.37 ppm
2020-02-19I200219036-0011.38 ppm
2020-07-28IMAG0811-03ND
2020-07-28IMAG0811-012.51 ppm
2020-07-28IMAG0811-050.670 ppm
2020-07-28IMAG0811-07ND
2021-06-29IMBF0852-01ND
2021-06-29IMBF0852-062.28 ppm
2021-06-29IMBF0852-03ND
2021-06-29IMBF0852-04ND
2021-06-29IMBF0852-07ND
2022-03-09NMCC0350-03ND
2022-03-09NMCC0350-025.71 ppm
2022-03-09NMCC0354-01ND
2022-03-09NMCC0350-012.70 ppm
2022-07-13NMCG0366-021.46 ppm
2022-07-13NMCG0366-03ND
2022-07-13NMCG0366-041.93 ppm
2023-08-02NMDH0141-01ND
2023-08-02NMDH0138-01ND
2023-08-02NMDH0136-010.121 ppm
2023-08-02NMDH0135-01ND
2023-08-02NMDH0139-011.19 ppm
2023-08-02NMDH0137-010.173 ppm
2023-08-02NMDH0130-01ND
2023-10-18NMDJ0629-01ND