Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

North Saint Paul

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.

 

30

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

9

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.342 ppm53ND - 1.10 ppm
20190.192 ppm54ND - 0.500 ppm
20200.212 ppm53ND - 0.840 ppm
20210.314 ppm54ND - 0.780 ppm
20220.172 ppm52ND - 0.740 ppm
20230.236 ppm53ND - 0.940 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
2018-08-2818H2346-011.10 ppm
2018-08-2818H2346-020.500 ppm
2018-08-2818H2346-03ND
2018-08-2818H2346-04ND
2018-08-2818H2343-010.110 ppm
2019-05-0619E0707-010.120 ppm
2019-05-0619E0694-04ND
2019-05-0619E0694-030.0600 ppm
2019-05-0619E0694-020.280 ppm
2019-05-0619E0694-010.500 ppm
2020-07-2920H0001-010.840 ppm
2020-07-2920H0001-020.130 ppm
2020-07-2920H0001-03ND
2020-07-2920H0001-04ND
2020-07-2920H0002-010.0900 ppm
2021-07-1921G1299-010.780 ppm
2021-07-1921G1302-010.110 ppm
2021-07-1921G1299-04ND
2021-07-1921G1299-030.0600 ppm
2021-07-1921G1299-020.620 ppm
2022-08-0922H0994-010.740 ppm
2022-08-0922H0994-02ND
2022-08-0922H0994-03ND
2022-08-0922H0994-04ND
2022-08-0922H0995-010.120 ppm
2023-09-1823I0972-010.940 ppm
2023-09-1823I0972-020.110 ppm
2023-09-1823I0972-03ND
2023-09-1823I0972-04ND
2023-09-1823I0975-010.130 ppm