Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Sherburn

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.

 

7

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

6

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.205 ppm220.0800 ppm - 0.330 ppm
20190.400 ppm110.400 ppm
20200.540 ppm110.540 ppm
20210.650 ppm110.650 ppm
20220.710 ppm110.710 ppm
20230.370 ppm110.370 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
2018-04-2318D1345-010.0800 ppm
2018-08-2918H2541-010.330 ppm
2019-08-2219H2179-010.400 ppm
2020-08-1220H1002-010.540 ppm
2021-08-1721H1512-010.650 ppm
2022-07-1922G1403-010.710 ppm
2023-08-0123H0369-010.370 ppm