Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Hanson 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.

 

8

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

8

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.605 ppm220.240 ppm - 0.970 ppm
20190.755 ppm220.430 ppm - 1.08 ppm
20200.655 ppm220.310 ppm - 1.000 ppm
20210.251 ppm220.120 ppm - 0.382 ppm
20220.310 ppm110.310 ppm
20230.560 ppm110.560 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
2018-06-110.970 ppm
2018-06-110.240 ppm
2019-06-031.08 ppm
2019-06-030.430 ppm
2020-06-100.310 ppm
2020-06-101.000 ppm
2022-05-040.310 ppm
2023-05-300.560 ppm