Nitrate and nitrite

Put-in-bay Village

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	0.713 ppm	12	12	0.120 ppm - 3.19 ppm
2015	0.554 ppm	13	12	ND - 1.92 ppm
2016	1.67 ppm	12	12	0.220 ppm - 6.45 ppm
2017	0.515 ppm	15	14	ND - 1.17 ppm
2018	0.555 ppm	12	12	0.190 ppm - 1.47 ppm
2019	0.686 ppm	10	8	ND - 1.84 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
2014-01-23	14-11046-01	0.500 ppm
2014-02-24	14-12141-01	0.510 ppm
2014-03-07	14-12680-06	0.370 ppm
2014-04-16	14-14750-01	1.33 ppm
2014-05-12	14-15712-01	0.500 ppm
2014-06-02	14-16818-04	0.730 ppm
2014-07-21	14-19537-01	3.19 ppm
2014-08-21	14-21382-02	0.480 ppm
2014-09-24	14-23111-01	0.120 ppm
2014-10-15	14-24216-01	0.340 ppm
2014-11-24	14-26026-01	0.160 ppm
2014-12-07	14-26643-02	0.330 ppm
2015-01-15	15-10633-01	0.600 ppm
2015-02-18	15-12062-01	0.570 ppm
2015-03-04	15-12590-02	0.510 ppm
2015-04-01	15-13979-01	0.720 ppm
2015-05-04	15-15456-01A	1.05 ppm
2015-06-01	15-16989-03	0.480 ppm
2015-07-27	15-20427-01	1.92 ppm
2015-08-17	15-21787-02	0.410 ppm
2015-09-29	15-24262-11	ND
2015-10-19	15-25355-03A	0.160 ppm
2015-11-19	15-27081-01	0.240 ppm
2015-12-04	15-27794-01	0.260 ppm
2015-12-22	15-28701-02	0.280 ppm
2016-01-21	16-11017-01	0.400 ppm
2016-02-17	16-12342-01	0.720 ppm
2016-03-21	16-14076-02	0.590 ppm
2016-04-29	16-16195-01	0.990 ppm
2016-05-31	16-17826-01	0.990 ppm
2016-06-21	16-19306-02	0.760 ppm
2016-07-27	16-21584-01	0.480 ppm
2016-08-23	16-23819-02	4.67 ppm
2016-09-13	16-25073-03	3.41 ppm
2016-10-20	16-27770-02	0.220 ppm
2016-11-28	16-29860-01	6.45 ppm
2016-12-05	16-30236-04	0.370 ppm
2017-01-23	17-11229-01	0.650 ppm
2017-02-02	17-11960-01	0.560 ppm
2017-03-01	17-13519-04	0.700 ppm
2017-04-25	17-18789-01	0.780 ppm
2017-05-29	17-19696-01	0.800 ppm
2017-06-06	17-19696-02	1.17 ppm
2017-07-05	17-21875-02	0.650 ppm
2017-07-25	17-23615-02	0.560 ppm
2017-08-01	17-24085-02	0.510 ppm
2017-09-21	17-28239-02	0.390 ppm
2017-09-28	17-28716-03	0.380 ppm
2017-10-16	17-29998-02	0.160 ppm
2017-11-02	17-31167-01	ND
2017-11-13	17-31889-01	0.190 ppm
2017-12-03	17-32913-02	0.220 ppm
2018-01-09	18-10539-02	1.18 ppm
2018-01-24	18-11504-03	0.340 ppm
2018-02-20	18-12992-01	0.490 ppm
2018-03-14	M18-14569-03	0.570 ppm
2018-04-19	18-17167-02	1.47 ppm
2018-05-24	18-20003-01	0.570 ppm
2018-06-13	18-21752-02A	0.860 ppm
2018-08-13	18-27011-01	0.190 ppm
2018-09-17	18-30073-01	0.200 ppm
2018-10-11	18-32396-01A	0.240 ppm
2018-11-08	18-34468-01	0.220 ppm
2018-12-05	18-36341-02	0.330 ppm
2019-01-25	19-11801-01	0.640 ppm
2019-02-26	19-13764-01	0.820 ppm
2019-03-07	19-14541-03	0.840 ppm
2019-04-22	19-18043-01	0.720 ppm
2019-05-07	M19-18900-01	1.84 ppm
2019-06-10	19-21815-03A	0.920 ppm
2019-07-01	19-23729-01	0.750 ppm
2019-08-12	19-27512-01	0.330 ppm
2019-09-24	19-31471-02	ND
2019-10-08	19-32490-01B	ND