Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Northfield

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)

17

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20181.19 ppm54ND - 5.20 ppm
20190.280 ppm54ND - 0.830 ppm
20201.05 ppm54ND - 4.40 ppm
20210.330 ppm54ND - 0.990 ppm
20220.400 ppm54ND - 1.40 ppm
20230.972 ppm550.0700 ppm - 4.40 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
2018-09-1218I0559-020.390 ppm
2018-09-1218I0559-03ND
2018-09-1218I0559-040.120 ppm
2018-09-1218I0559-015.20 ppm
2018-10-1618J0869-010.260 ppm
2019-07-1719G1228-010.270 ppm
2019-07-1719G1223-040.110 ppm
2019-07-1719G1223-03ND
2019-07-1719G1223-020.190 ppm
2019-07-1719G1223-010.830 ppm
2020-06-0920F0858-014.40 ppm
2020-06-0920F0858-020.540 ppm
2020-06-0920F0858-030.0900 ppm
2020-06-0920F0858-04ND
2020-06-0920F0860-010.240 ppm
2021-06-1621F1125-010.990 ppm
2021-06-1621F1128-010.240 ppm
2021-06-1621F1125-040.120 ppm
2021-06-1621F1125-03ND
2021-06-1621F1125-020.300 ppm
2022-06-1422F0949-011.40 ppm
2022-06-1422F0949-020.260 ppm
2022-06-1422F0949-03ND
2022-06-1422F0949-040.0900 ppm
2022-06-1422F0951-010.250 ppm
2023-08-2123H2423-010.1000 ppm
2023-08-2123H2429-014.40 ppm
2023-08-2123H2429-020.210 ppm
2023-08-2123H2429-030.0700 ppm
2023-08-2123H2429-040.0800 ppm