Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Anoka

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)

6

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.125 ppm41ND - 0.500 ppm
20190.108 ppm41ND - 0.430 ppm
20200.0875 ppm41ND - 0.350 ppm
20210.103 ppm41ND - 0.410 ppm
20220.143 ppm41ND - 0.570 ppm
20230.133 ppm41ND - 0.530 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
2018-05-0918E0746-02ND
2018-05-0918E0746-03ND
2018-05-0918E0746-04ND
2018-05-0918E0746-010.500 ppm
2019-08-2019H1741-010.430 ppm
2019-08-2019H1741-02ND
2019-08-2019H1741-03ND
2019-08-2019H1741-04ND
2020-08-1920H1438-010.350 ppm
2020-08-1920H1438-02ND
2020-08-1920H1438-03ND
2020-08-1920H1438-04ND
2021-05-1921E1236-010.410 ppm
2021-05-1921E1236-04ND
2021-05-1921E1236-03ND
2021-05-1921E1236-02ND
2022-07-1222G0558-010.570 ppm
2022-07-1222G0558-02ND
2022-07-1222G0558-03ND
2022-07-1222G0558-04ND
2023-07-2423G1504-010.530 ppm
2023-07-2423G1504-02ND
2023-07-2423G1504-03ND
2023-07-2423G1504-04ND