Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Littleton Water Department

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.

 

51

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

46

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.577 ppm13130.0600 ppm - 1.10 ppm
20190.753 ppm770.190 ppm - 1.20 ppm
20200.623 ppm770.310 ppm - 0.990 ppm
20210.724 ppm880.0500 ppm - 1.59 ppm
20220.748 ppm880.1000 ppm - 1.37 ppm
20230.734 ppm87ND - 1.33 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
2018-04-110.480 ppm
2018-04-260.300 ppm
2018-04-261.10 ppm
2018-04-260.830 ppm
2018-04-290.0600 ppm
2018-04-290.570 ppm
2018-04-290.810 ppm
2018-05-010.880 ppm
2018-05-010.0700 ppm
2018-05-010.590 ppm
2018-05-070.680 ppm
2018-05-070.440 ppm
2018-06-190.690 ppm
2019-05-011.20 ppm
2019-05-010.830 ppm
2019-05-010.920 ppm
2019-05-010.190 ppm
2019-05-300.480 ppm
2019-06-051.10 ppm
2019-06-170.550 ppm
2020-05-140.640 ppm
2020-05-140.990 ppm
2020-05-260.310 ppm
2020-05-260.640 ppm
2020-05-260.510 ppm
2020-05-260.560 ppm
2020-06-160.710 ppm
2021-04-050.500 ppm
2021-04-050.700 ppm
2021-04-050.0500 ppm
2021-04-050.150 ppm
2021-04-051.54 ppm
2021-04-050.590 ppm
2021-04-121.59 ppm
2021-06-080.670 ppm
2022-05-181.37 ppm
2022-05-180.1000 ppm
2022-05-180.750 ppm
2022-05-181.04 ppm
2022-05-180.390 ppm
2022-05-180.480 ppm
2022-05-180.870 ppm
2022-05-180.980 ppm
2023-06-16ND
2023-06-160.790 ppm
2023-06-160.860 ppm
2023-06-161.07 ppm
2023-06-160.660 ppm
2023-06-161.33 ppm
2023-06-160.230 ppm
2023-06-160.930 ppm