Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Castle Mountain Creeks Owners Association

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.

 

13

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

4

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.300 ppm110.300 ppm
2019ND20ND
2020ND20ND
20210.1000 ppm21ND - 0.200 ppm
20220.150 ppm42ND - 0.400 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
2018-01-23I18032910.300 ppm
2019-01-03I1900265ND
2019-01-07I1900713ND
2020-12-08I2061674ND
2020-12-08I2061672ND
2021-01-11I2101325ND
2021-01-11I21013240.200 ppm
2022-03-14I2211963ND
2022-03-14I22119650.200 ppm
2022-05-24I22247960.400 ppm
2022-05-24I2224795ND
2023-09-24I2320728-01ND
2023-09-24I2320728-02ND