Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Greater Augusta Utility District

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)

21

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.830 ppm330.240 ppm - 2.00 ppm
20190.623 ppm330.210 ppm - 1.40 ppm
20200.613 ppm880.1000 ppm - 2.30 ppm
20210.930 ppm330.210 ppm - 2.30 ppm
20220.900 ppm330.250 ppm - 2.10 ppm
20231.15 ppm330.200 ppm - 2.30 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 Lab ID Result
2018-03-201803947-010.250 ppm
2018-04-031804003-010.240 ppm
2018-11-071820263-012.00 ppm
2019-04-171903658-010.260 ppm
2019-04-171903657-010.210 ppm
2019-09-301903656-011.40 ppm
2020-03-112003827-010.120 ppm
2020-03-112003828-010.190 ppm
2020-03-172005727-010.1000 ppm
2020-03-172005728-010.220 ppm
2020-03-172005729-010.290 ppm
2020-03-172005730-010.180 ppm
2020-04-092001837-011.50 ppm
2020-06-242011452-012.30 ppm
2021-06-172101862-012.30 ppm
2021-06-172101823-010.210 ppm
2021-06-172101863-010.280 ppm
2022-06-022203037-012.10 ppm
2022-06-022203038-010.350 ppm
2022-06-022203039-010.250 ppm
2023-04-052303774-012.30 ppm
2023-04-052303775-010.200 ppm
2023-06-212303378-010.960 ppm