Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Enclave At Boxborough

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.

 

7

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

7

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018N/A00N/A
2019N/A00N/A
2020N/A00N/A
20210.320 ppm110.320 ppm
20220.263 ppm330.230 ppm - 0.300 ppm
20230.310 ppm330.290 ppm - 0.340 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
2021-01-140.320 ppm
2022-06-270.260 ppm
2022-06-270.230 ppm
2022-06-270.300 ppm
2023-04-060.300 ppm
2023-04-060.340 ppm
2023-04-060.290 ppm