Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Bicknell 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.

 

6

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

6

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.612 ppm110.612 ppm
20190.556 ppm110.556 ppm
20201.03 ppm111.03 ppm
20210.761 ppm110.761 ppm
20220.823 ppm110.823 ppm
20230.894 ppm110.894 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
2018-04-2318006239001N0.612 ppm
2019-02-1319002242001N0.556 ppm
2020-02-1020002095001N1.03 ppm
2021-04-0621006359-001-00030.761 ppm
2022-03-3022005511-001-00080.823 ppm
2023-03-0623003972-001-00010.894 ppm