Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Canton Point Park

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.

 

17

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

15

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND10ND
2019N/A00N/A
20200.337 ppm32ND - 0.520 ppm
20210.533 ppm440.510 ppm - 0.560 ppm
20220.573 ppm440.490 ppm - 0.670 ppm
20230.564 ppm550.480 ppm - 0.630 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
2018-08-231814554-01ND
2020-03-04452000221CND
2020-09-092009-01306-0020.520 ppm
2020-12-072012-00866-0020.490 ppm
2021-01-072101-00622-0020.530 ppm
2021-04-212104-03030-0020.530 ppm
2021-07-212107-03399-0020.510 ppm
2021-10-222110-03927-0020.560 ppm
2022-01-132201-01635-0020.580 ppm
2022-04-042204-00307-0020.490 ppm
2022-07-272207-05147-0020.550 ppm
2022-10-282210-05897-0020.670 ppm
2023-01-092301-01208-0020.580 ppm
2023-04-062304-01338-0020.630 ppm
2023-07-112307-01629-0020.590 ppm
2023-08-292308-06455-0020.540 ppm
2023-10-302310-06091-0020.480 ppm