Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Chanute, 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.

 

12

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

8

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.375 ppm220.260 ppm - 0.490 ppm
20190.380 ppm220.340 ppm - 0.420 ppm
20200.260 ppm21ND - 0.520 ppm
20210.720 ppm220.710 ppm - 0.730 ppm
20220.270 ppm21ND - 0.540 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
2018-02-129077740.260 ppm
2018-04-099380720.490 ppm
2019-02-0411139470.340 ppm
2019-04-1611388690.420 ppm
2020-02-031317851ND
2020-04-1313570090.520 ppm
2021-02-0117595060.710 ppm
2021-04-1318172730.730 ppm
2022-02-072184871ND
2022-04-1122347200.540 ppm
2023-02-062445688ND
2023-04-032474692ND