Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Leavenworth County Rural Water District 9

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)

2

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20181.000 ppm111.000 ppm
20190.180 ppm110.180 ppm
2020ND20ND
2021ND50ND
2022ND10ND
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
2018-06-199902951.000 ppm
2019-07-0211949960.180 ppm
2020-04-011348524ND
2020-06-221410879ND
2021-07-191886649ND
2021-08-241927687ND
2021-08-241928324ND
2021-09-141956852ND
2021-09-151958481ND
2022-06-082274239ND
2023-04-032474020ND
2023-06-202519942ND