Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Klamath Falls Water Department

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.

 

39

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

24

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.298 ppm75ND - 0.779 ppm
20190.259 ppm74ND - 0.646 ppm
20200.436 ppm76ND - 1.25 ppm
20210.258 ppm660.0290 ppm - 0.852 ppm
20220.688 ppm64ND - 2.14 ppm
20230.754 ppm64ND - 2.51 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
2018-07-25N18291-IND
2018-07-25N18292-I0.468 ppm
2018-07-25N18293-I0.508 ppm
2018-07-25N18294-I0.233 ppm
2018-07-25N18295-IND
2018-07-25N18296-I0.779 ppm
2018-07-25N18290-I0.1000 ppm
2019-07-10N19-220-I0.439 ppm
2019-07-10N19-223-I0.353 ppm
2019-07-10N19-225-IND
2019-07-101907047901A-I0.377 ppm
2019-07-10N19-224-I0.646 ppm
2019-07-10N19-222-IND
2019-07-10N19-221-IND
2020-07-29N20260-I0.176 ppm
2020-07-29N20263-I1.25 ppm
2020-07-29N20259-I0.776 ppm
2020-07-29N20264-I0.122 ppm
2020-07-29N20261-I0.299 ppm
2020-07-29N20262-IND
2020-07-29N20265-I0.431 ppm
2021-07-28N21302-I0.0290 ppm
2021-07-28N21304-I0.852 ppm
2021-07-28N21303-I0.260 ppm
2021-07-28N21306-I0.271 ppm
2021-07-28N21305-I0.0460 ppm
2021-07-28N21307-I0.0920 ppm
2022-08-1622080802-01-I0.282 ppm
2022-08-1622080799-01B-IND
2022-08-1622080803-01B-I0.816 ppm
2022-08-1622080801-01B-I0.889 ppm
2022-08-1622080809-01-I2.14 ppm
2022-08-1622080806-01B-IND
2023-08-0923080560-02A-I0.298 ppm
2023-08-0923080560-04A-I2.51 ppm
2023-08-0923080560-03A-IND
2023-08-0923080560-05A-I0.785 ppm
2023-08-0923080560-01A-IND
2023-08-0923080560-06A-I0.930 ppm