Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Austin Utilities

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.

 

46

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

12

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.575 ppm82ND - 3.30 ppm
20190.575 ppm82ND - 3.30 ppm
20200.550 ppm82ND - 3.30 ppm
20210.563 ppm82ND - 3.40 ppm
20220.386 ppm72ND - 1.60 ppm
20230.371 ppm72ND - 1.60 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
2018-08-1318H1147-02ND
2018-08-1318H1147-011.30 ppm
2018-08-1318H1151-04ND
2018-08-1318H1151-03ND
2018-08-1318H1151-02ND
2018-08-1318H1147-04ND
2018-08-1318H1147-033.30 ppm
2018-08-1318H1151-01ND
2019-06-2419F1680-033.30 ppm
2019-06-2419F1680-04ND
2019-06-2419F1680-02ND
2019-06-2419F1680-011.30 ppm
2019-06-2419F1677-04ND
2019-06-2419F1677-03ND
2019-06-2419F1677-02ND
2019-06-2419F1677-01ND
2020-04-0820D0278-011.10 ppm
2020-04-0820D0278-02ND
2020-04-0820D0278-033.30 ppm
2020-04-0820D0279-01ND
2020-04-0820D0279-02ND
2020-04-0820D0279-03ND
2020-04-0820D0279-04ND
2020-06-0920F0861-01ND
2021-07-1421G1029-02ND
2021-07-1421G1029-033.40 ppm
2021-07-1421G1029-04ND
2021-07-1421G1032-01ND
2021-07-1421G1032-02ND
2021-07-1421G1032-03ND
2021-07-1421G1032-04ND
2021-07-1421G1029-011.10 ppm
2022-05-2522E2081-021.60 ppm
2022-05-2522E2081-04ND
2022-05-2522E2081-03ND
2022-05-2522E2081-011.10 ppm
2022-05-2522E2079-02ND
2022-05-2522E2079-01ND
2022-08-2922H2589-01ND
2023-07-1023G0335-01ND
2023-07-1023G0335-02ND
2023-07-1023G0335-03ND
2023-07-1023G0336-011.000 ppm
2023-07-1023G0336-021.60 ppm
2023-07-1023G0336-03ND
2023-07-1023G0336-04ND