Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Pahrump Utility Company Inc.

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)

30

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.334 ppm550.217 ppm - 0.509 ppm
20190.307 ppm550.203 ppm - 0.502 ppm
20200.334 ppm550.244 ppm - 0.485 ppm
20210.339 ppm550.256 ppm - 0.427 ppm
20220.307 ppm550.261 ppm - 0.360 ppm
20230.264 ppm550.201 ppm - 0.366 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
2018-08-1518080770-010.248 ppm
2018-08-1518080786-010.293 ppm
2018-08-2218081132-010.509 ppm
2018-08-2218081135-010.401 ppm
2018-08-2918081451-010.217 ppm
2019-06-1119060609-010.251 ppm
2019-06-1119060604-010.203 ppm
2019-06-1119060598-010.204 ppm
2019-06-1919061106-010.377 ppm
2019-06-1919061103-010.502 ppm
2020-06-1020060615-010.485 ppm
2020-06-1020060618-010.380 ppm
2020-06-1020060619-010.244 ppm
2020-06-1020060620-010.256 ppm
2020-06-1020060633-010.305 ppm
2021-04-0821040438-020.323 ppm
2021-06-1521060800-010.348 ppm
2021-06-1521060805-01A0.427 ppm
2021-06-1521060802-010.256 ppm
2021-06-1521060801-010.340 ppm
2022-09-2122090942-010.360 ppm
2022-09-2122090944-010.330 ppm
2022-09-2122090951-010.262 ppm
2022-09-2122090952-010.261 ppm
2022-09-2122090953-010.323 ppm
2023-05-2523051339-010.201 ppm
2023-05-2523051341-010.286 ppm
2023-05-2523051342-010.366 ppm
2023-06-2123061017-010.260 ppm
2023-06-2123061018-010.207 ppm