Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Lapeer, 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.

 

26

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND40ND
2019ND80ND
2020ND40ND
2021ND40ND
2022ND30ND
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
2018-08-06LLH96965ND
2018-08-06LLH96967ND
2018-08-06LLH96966ND
2018-08-06LLH96964ND
2019-07-15LLI49528ND
2019-07-15LLI49529ND
2019-07-15LLI49530ND
2019-07-15LLI49532ND
2019-07-15LLI49531ND
2019-10-21LLI71521ND
2019-10-21LLI71522ND
2019-10-21LLI71520ND
2020-06-15ND
2020-06-15ND
2020-06-15ND
2020-06-15ND
2021-09-21ND
2021-09-21ND
2021-09-21ND
2021-09-21ND
2022-08-19ND
2022-08-19ND
2022-09-27ND
2023-09-11ND
2023-09-11ND
2023-09-11ND