Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Leicester Water Supply 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.

 

24

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

12

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.344 ppm43ND - 0.740 ppm
20190.804 ppm43ND - 2.17 ppm
20201.01 ppm43ND - 3.42 ppm
20210.694 ppm440.0561 ppm - 2.05 ppm
20220.640 ppm43ND - 1.73 ppm
20230.359 ppm43ND - 1.12 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
2018-06-130.0551 ppm
2018-06-130.740 ppm
2018-06-130.582 ppm
2018-06-13ND
2019-05-280.990 ppm
2019-05-280.0577 ppm
2019-05-28ND
2019-05-282.17 ppm
2020-06-240.0699 ppm
2020-06-24ND
2020-06-243.42 ppm
2020-06-240.545 ppm
2021-06-162.05 ppm
2021-06-160.0561 ppm
2021-06-160.587 ppm
2021-06-160.0842 ppm
2022-05-121.73 ppm
2022-05-120.735 ppm
2022-05-12ND
2022-05-120.0953 ppm
2023-05-101.12 ppm
2023-05-100.0697 ppm
2023-05-100.246 ppm
2023-05-10ND