Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Osage County Rural Water District 3

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)

7

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.335 ppm220.310 ppm - 0.360 ppm
20190.325 ppm220.150 ppm - 0.500 ppm
20200.405 ppm21ND - 0.810 ppm
2021ND20ND
20220.485 ppm21ND - 0.970 ppm
20230.285 ppm21ND - 0.570 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
2018-05-029615670.310 ppm
2018-07-0910019440.360 ppm
2019-05-0611578150.500 ppm
2019-07-0811991570.150 ppm
2020-05-1813783600.810 ppm
2020-07-151441840ND
2021-05-111837541ND
2021-07-061872933ND
2022-05-0922547800.970 ppm
2022-07-132301852ND
2023-05-1725025380.570 ppm
2023-07-122534005ND