Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Halifax 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.

 

23

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

8

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.198 ppm440.110 ppm - 0.260 ppm
20190.155 ppm43ND - 0.260 ppm
2020ND40ND
20210.0400 ppm31ND - 0.120 ppm
20220.0600 ppm41ND - 0.240 ppm
20230.168 ppm43ND - 0.350 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
2018-06-280.160 ppm
2018-06-280.110 ppm
2018-06-280.260 ppm
2018-06-280.260 ppm
2019-06-180.230 ppm
2019-06-180.130 ppm
2019-06-18ND
2019-06-180.260 ppm
2020-06-30ND
2020-06-30ND
2020-06-30ND
2020-06-30ND
2021-06-300.120 ppm
2021-06-30ND
2021-06-30ND
2022-06-290.240 ppm
2022-06-29ND
2022-06-29ND
2022-07-11ND
2023-06-29ND
2023-06-290.210 ppm
2023-06-290.110 ppm
2023-08-080.350 ppm