Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Medway Water and Sewer 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.

 

32

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

32

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20181.54 ppm440.840 ppm - 1.90 ppm
20191.27 ppm440.670 ppm - 1.90 ppm
20201.35 ppm550.650 ppm - 2.10 ppm
20211.50 ppm660.650 ppm - 2.14 ppm
20221.52 ppm660.580 ppm - 2.08 ppm
20231.35 ppm770.550 ppm - 1.99 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
2018-05-080.840 ppm
2018-05-081.50 ppm
2018-05-081.90 ppm
2018-06-251.90 ppm
2019-05-071.90 ppm
2019-05-071.000 ppm
2019-05-070.670 ppm
2019-05-071.50 ppm
2020-04-071.50 ppm
2020-06-162.10 ppm
2020-06-160.920 ppm
2020-06-161.60 ppm
2020-06-160.650 ppm
2021-04-271.32 ppm
2021-04-271.63 ppm
2021-04-272.14 ppm
2021-04-271.13 ppm
2021-04-270.650 ppm
2021-04-272.13 ppm
2022-04-201.07 ppm
2022-04-201.58 ppm
2022-04-202.08 ppm
2022-04-200.580 ppm
2022-04-202.04 ppm
2022-04-201.77 ppm
2023-04-191.14 ppm
2023-04-191.99 ppm
2023-04-191.41 ppm
2023-04-191.21 ppm
2023-04-191.23 ppm
2023-04-191.95 ppm
2023-04-190.550 ppm