Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Lanesborough Fire and Water District

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.

 

10

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

10

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.540 ppm220.279 ppm - 0.801 ppm
20190.602 ppm220.336 ppm - 0.867 ppm
2020ND20ND
20210.710 ppm220.380 ppm - 1.04 ppm
20220.569 ppm220.172 ppm - 0.965 ppm
20230.611 ppm220.141 ppm - 1.08 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 Result
2018-08-070.279 ppm
2018-08-070.801 ppm
2019-08-060.336 ppm
2019-08-060.867 ppm
2021-07-270.380 ppm
2021-07-271.04 ppm
2022-07-200.965 ppm
2022-07-200.172 ppm
2023-07-170.141 ppm
2023-07-171.08 ppm