Nitrate and nitrite

Buckeye Water District - Ohio River

Nitrate and nitrite enter water from fertilizer runoff, septic tanks and urban runoff. These contaminants can cause oxygen deprivation for infants and increase the risk of cancer. Nitrite is significantly more toxic than nitrate. 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	0.791 ppm	12	12	0.580 ppm - 1.09 ppm
2015	0.826 ppm	12	12	0.590 ppm - 1.04 ppm
2016	0.845 ppm	12	12	0.730 ppm - 1.06 ppm
2017	0.862 ppm	12	12	0.500 ppm - 1.09 ppm
2018	0.795 ppm	11	11	0.610 ppm - 0.960 ppm
2019	0.783 ppm	10	10	0.670 ppm - 0.950 ppm

ppm = parts per million

State and national drinking water standards and health guidelines

EWG Health Guideline 0.14 ppm

The 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

ppm = parts per million

All test results

Date	Lab ID	Result
2014-01-08	14-10237-02	0.740 ppm
2014-02-05	14-11398-05	1.09 ppm
2014-03-05	14-12556-03	0.980 ppm
2014-04-09	14-14297-03A	0.790 ppm
2014-05-07	14-15482-05	0.710 ppm
2014-06-04	14-16938-02	0.580 ppm
2014-07-09	14-18953-01	0.670 ppm
2014-08-06	14-20274-05	0.720 ppm
2014-09-10	14-22423-03	0.840 ppm
2014-10-08	14-23882-01	0.950 ppm
2014-11-05	14-25196-05	0.700 ppm
2014-12-03	14-26421-03	0.720 ppm
2015-01-07	15-10189-03	0.890 ppm
2015-02-04	15-11338-05	0.920 ppm
2015-03-11	15-12959-03	1.04 ppm
2015-04-15	15-14706-01	0.750 ppm
2015-05-06	15-15712-05	0.590 ppm
2015-06-10	15-17794-03	0.770 ppm
2015-07-08	15-19292-03	0.840 ppm
2015-08-05	15-20923-05	0.640 ppm
2015-09-23	15-23944-01	0.960 ppm
2015-10-14	15-25134-02	0.950 ppm
2015-11-04	15-26241-07	0.780 ppm
2015-12-09	15-28014-03	0.780 ppm
2016-01-13	16-10635-01	0.810 ppm
2016-02-03	16-11578-07	0.990 ppm
2016-03-09	16-13455-01	0.810 ppm
2016-04-06	16-14820-01	0.760 ppm
2016-05-04	16-16386-08	0.760 ppm
2016-06-08	16-18414-01	0.730 ppm
2016-07-13	16-20752-01	0.810 ppm
2016-08-03	16-22202-03	0.890 ppm
2016-09-14	16-25275-03	0.840 ppm
2016-10-05	16-26784-01	1.06 ppm
2016-11-02	16-28538-01	0.920 ppm
2016-12-07	16-30498-01	0.760 ppm
2017-01-11	17-10642-03	1.09 ppm
2017-02-01	17-11745-07	0.910 ppm
2017-03-08	17-14076-03	0.840 ppm
2017-04-05	17-15808-01	0.760 ppm
2017-05-03	17-17657-01	0.500 ppm
2017-06-14	17-20592-03	0.760 ppm
2017-07-12	17-22629-01	0.880 ppm
2017-08-09	17-24950-01	0.780 ppm
2017-09-06	17-26998-01	0.860 ppm
2017-10-11	17-29676-01	1.03 ppm
2017-11-01	17-31116-03	1.07 ppm
2017-12-06	17-33288-02	0.860 ppm
2018-01-03	18-10204-03	0.860 ppm
2018-02-14	18-12740-05	0.960 ppm
2018-03-07	18-14112-01	0.810 ppm
2018-04-04	18-15987-02	0.800 ppm
2018-06-06	18-20916-01	0.610 ppm
2018-07-11	18-24128-01	0.750 ppm
2018-08-01	18-25969-05	0.940 ppm
2018-09-05	18-29036-01	0.710 ppm
2018-10-03	18-31582-01	0.820 ppm
2018-11-07	18-34360-05	0.670 ppm
2018-12-05	18-36330-01	0.810 ppm
2019-01-02	19-10088-04	0.820 ppm
2019-02-06	19-12459-05	0.950 ppm
2019-03-06	19-14369-01	0.840 ppm
2019-04-10	19-17146-01	0.780 ppm
2019-05-01	M19-18573-05	0.680 ppm
2019-06-12	19-22127-01	0.670 ppm
2019-07-03	19-24107-01	0.700 ppm
2019-08-07	19-27015-05	0.780 ppm
2019-09-04	19-29557-01	0.790 ppm
2019-10-02	19-32081-01	0.820 ppm