Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Hoisington, City of

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.

 

27

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

5

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.235 ppm42ND - 0.510 ppm
20190.395 ppm220.260 ppm - 0.530 ppm
2020ND20ND
2021ND10ND
20220.514 ppm71ND - 3.60 ppm
2023ND110ND

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
2018-03-129366080.510 ppm
2018-03-12936609ND
2018-04-029384100.430 ppm
2018-04-02938411ND
2019-04-0811395550.260 ppm
2019-04-0811395540.530 ppm
2020-04-281363700ND
2020-04-281363699ND
2021-11-022010729ND
2022-01-1021375043.60 ppm
2022-04-252243682ND
2022-07-182307989ND
2022-07-182307987ND
2022-08-232341660ND
2022-10-172381509ND
2022-10-262385220ND
2023-01-162433375ND
2023-01-162433376ND
2023-03-072463281ND
2023-04-102481493ND
2023-04-102481494ND
2023-04-102481495ND
2023-04-252489048ND
2023-07-112535074ND
2023-07-112535075ND
2023-11-062607552ND
2023-11-062607553ND