Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Clare, City of

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.

 

50

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

29

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.500 ppm1613ND - 1.000 ppm
20190.393 ppm149ND - 1.000 ppm
20200.0800 ppm51ND - 0.400 ppm
20210.280 ppm52ND - 0.800 ppm
20220.200 ppm52ND - 0.600 ppm
20230.260 ppm52ND - 0.800 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
2018-01-09LLH605430.400 ppm
2018-02-14LLH65797ND
2018-02-14LLH65798ND
2018-02-14LLH657940.600 ppm
2018-02-14LLH657951.000 ppm
2018-02-14LLH65796ND
2018-03-06LLH691780.800 ppm
2018-04-16LLH756300.600 ppm
2018-05-01LLH782580.600 ppm
2018-06-05LLH841800.700 ppm
2018-07-10LLH922310.500 ppm
2018-08-07LLH976910.700 ppm
2018-09-17LLI060880.600 ppm
2018-10-02LLI099520.600 ppm
2018-11-06LLI144640.400 ppm
2018-12-04LLI178050.500 ppm
2019-01-02LLI21334ND
2019-01-02LLI21335ND
2019-01-16LLI22625ND
2019-01-16LLI22621ND
2019-01-16LLI226221.000 ppm
2019-01-16LLI22624ND
2019-01-16LLI226230.500 ppm
2019-02-05LLI245210.500 ppm
2019-03-06LLI283530.500 ppm
2019-06-05LLI412670.400 ppm
2019-07-09LLI487480.600 ppm
2019-07-09LLI487460.600 ppm
2019-07-09LLI487470.700 ppm
2019-07-24LLI519490.700 ppm
2020-01-070.400 ppm
2020-01-07ND
2020-01-07ND
2020-01-07ND
2020-01-07ND
2021-01-05ND
2021-01-050.800 ppm
2021-01-05ND
2021-01-05ND
2021-01-050.600 ppm
2022-01-100.400 ppm
2022-01-100.600 ppm
2022-01-10ND
2022-01-10ND
2022-01-10ND
2023-01-100.500 ppm
2023-01-10ND
2023-01-100.800 ppm
2023-01-10ND
2023-01-10ND