Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Portland

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.

 

24

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

12

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.625 ppm42ND - 1.30 ppm
20190.675 ppm42ND - 1.50 ppm
20200.625 ppm42ND - 1.40 ppm
20210.475 ppm42ND - 1.40 ppm
20220.475 ppm42ND - 1.000 ppm
20230.500 ppm42ND - 1.000 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
2018-09-10LLI041191.30 ppm
2018-09-10LLI041201.20 ppm
2018-09-11LLI04532ND
2018-09-11LLI04531ND
2019-09-30LLI683421.50 ppm
2019-09-30LLI683411.20 ppm
2019-09-30LLI68340ND
2019-11-05LLI74934ND
2020-09-141.10 ppm
2020-09-141.40 ppm
2020-09-14ND
2020-09-29ND
2021-09-070.500 ppm
2021-09-07ND
2021-09-071.40 ppm
2021-09-14ND
2022-09-19ND
2022-09-19ND
2022-09-190.900 ppm
2022-09-191.000 ppm
2023-09-181.000 ppm
2023-09-181.000 ppm
2023-09-18ND
2023-09-18ND