Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Danbury, Town of

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.

 

10

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

1

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND20ND
2019N/A00N/A
2020ND20ND
20210.850 ppm21ND - 1.70 ppm
2022ND20ND
2023ND20ND

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
2018-02-2647093-01ND
2018-02-2647093-03ND
2020-01-2777720-06ND
2020-01-2777720-07ND
2021-02-0192519559003_37738ND
2021-02-0192519559004_377381.70 ppm
2022-06-1392609296001_37738ND
2022-06-1392609296002_37738ND
2023-06-1392672027002_37738ND
2023-06-1392672027003_37738ND