Nitrate

Salem City

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.

MORE ABOUT THIS CONTAMINANT

Samples

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

Year	Average result	Samples taken	Detections	Range of results
2014	0.833 ppm	12	12	0.153 ppm - 1.51 ppm
2015	0.771 ppm	12	11	ND - 1.59 ppm
2016	0.509 ppm	12	11	ND - 1.39 ppm
2017	0.377 ppm	12	7	ND - 1.25 ppm
2018	0.897 ppm	12	12	0.200 ppm - 2.01 ppm
2019	0.752 ppm	10	8	ND - 1.33 ppm

ppm = parts per million

State and national drinking water standards and health guidelines

EWG Health Guideline 0.14 ppm

The EWG Health Guideline of 0.14 ppm for nitrate was defined by EWG . This health guideline protects against cancer and harm to fetal growth and development.

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
2014-01-09	14A0403-05	1.37 ppm
2014-02-26	14B1271-01	0.951 ppm
2014-03-17	14C0985-01	1.51 ppm
2014-04-07	14D0464-01	1.44 ppm
2014-05-20	14E1161-01	0.153 ppm
2014-06-03	14F0315-04	0.960 ppm
2014-07-14	14G0930-01	0.952 ppm
2014-08-19	14H1165-01	0.630 ppm
2014-09-16	14I0961-03	0.544 ppm
2014-10-08	14J0562-01	0.264 ppm
2014-11-04	14K0294-01	0.301 ppm
2014-12-09	14L0685-03	0.926 ppm
2015-01-12	15A0558-03	0.915 ppm
2015-02-17	15B0906-03	1.43 ppm
2015-03-10	15C0563-03	1.28 ppm
2015-04-07	15D0427-07	1.59 ppm
2015-05-04	15E0257-01	1.02 ppm
2015-06-02	15F0316-01	0.725 ppm
2015-07-20	15G1208-01	0.896 ppm
2015-08-10	15H0613-01	0.548 ppm
2015-09-01	15I0227-01	0.227 ppm
2015-10-06	15J0451-03	0.241 ppm
2015-11-09	15K0477-01	ND
2015-12-01	15L0232-01	0.374 ppm
2016-01-11	16A0480-01	0.749 ppm
2016-02-01	16B0126-01	0.524 ppm
2016-03-01	16C0237-01	1.39 ppm
2016-04-04	16D0240-03	1.11 ppm
2016-05-09	16E0706-01	0.750 ppm
2016-06-01	16F0279-02	0.497 ppm
2016-07-19	16G1581-03	0.153 ppm
2016-08-15	16H1157-03	0.149 ppm
2016-09-13	16I1099-03	0.460 ppm
2016-10-17	16J1046-03	0.153 ppm
2016-11-14	16K0868-03	ND
2016-12-05	16L0374-03	0.178 ppm
2017-01-10	17-10635-01	0.310 ppm
2017-02-07	17-12251-03	0.440 ppm
2017-03-21	17-14953-01	0.510 ppm
2017-04-05	17-15811-01	0.480 ppm
2017-05-09	17-18183-02	0.920 ppm
2017-06-06	17-19999-01	0.610 ppm
2017-07-11	17-22657-03	ND
2017-08-01	17-24322-06	ND
2017-09-12	17-27557-01	ND
2017-10-10	17-29730-01	ND
2017-11-07	17-31680-01	ND
2017-12-12	17-33904-01	1.25 ppm
2018-01-09	18-10629-05	0.200 ppm
2018-02-06	18-12730-03	2.01 ppm
2018-03-05	18-14058-02	1.71 ppm
2018-04-10	18-16717-03	0.520 ppm
2018-05-01	18-18096-02	1.15 ppm
2018-06-05	18-20930-02	0.920 ppm
2018-07-17	18-24809-04	0.470 ppm
2018-08-07	18-26657-03	0.270 ppm
2018-09-11	18-29712-01	0.600 ppm
2018-10-16	18-32819-02	0.710 ppm
2018-11-13	18-34919-04	1.06 ppm
2018-12-04	18-36351-05	1.14 ppm
2019-01-15	19-11183-08	1.17 ppm
2019-02-11	19-12990-05	1.33 ppm
2019-03-12	19-15009-02	1.19 ppm
2019-04-09	19-17149-06	0.870 ppm
2019-05-07	19-19257-01	0.850 ppm
2019-06-11	19-22151-01	ND
2019-07-16	19-25315-04	0.920 ppm
2019-08-06	19-27046-02	0.730 ppm
2019-09-03	19-29588-05	0.460 ppm
2019-10-08	19-32791-04	ND