Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Maine Water Company Kezar Falls Division

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)

1

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND60ND
2019ND40ND
2020ND30ND
20210.0867 ppm31ND - 0.260 ppm
2022ND40ND
2023ND30ND

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
2018-02-13180213-0124ND
2018-02-13180213-0128ND
2018-02-13180213-0127ND
2018-11-021811-00182-002ND
2018-11-021811-00182-003ND
2018-11-021811-00182-001ND
2019-04-021904-00259-001ND
2019-04-021904-00256-002ND
2019-04-021904-00256-001ND
2019-10-281910-03525-002ND
2020-05-052005-00397-001ND
2020-05-052005-00400-001ND
2020-05-052005-00403-001ND
2021-01-132101-01385-0010.260 ppm
2021-01-132101-01383-002ND
2021-01-132101-01383-001ND
2022-03-232203-03208-001ND
2022-04-062204-00867-004ND
2022-04-062204-00867-002ND
2022-08-022208-00422-001ND
2023-07-122307-02131-001ND
2023-07-122307-02131-002ND
2023-07-122307-02131-003ND