Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Town of Indian Head

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.

 

15

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND30ND
2019ND30ND
2020ND30ND
2021ND30ND
2022ND30ND
2023N/A00N/A

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 Lab ID Result
2018-04-04000001ND
2018-04-04000002ND
2018-04-04000002_AND
2019-09-05000001ND
2019-09-05000001_AND
2019-09-05000001_A1ND
2020-08-070080020_080720_TP02ND
2020-08-070080020_080720_TP03ND
2020-08-070080020_080720_TP07ND
2021-05-170080020_051721_TP02ND
2021-05-170080020_051721_TP03ND
2021-05-170080020_051721_TP07ND
2022-05-24000001ND
2022-05-24000001_AND
2022-05-24000001_BND