Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Tualatin Valley Water District

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.

 

13

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

11

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.458 ppm330.280 ppm - 0.591 ppm
20190.521 ppm110.521 ppm
20200.399 ppm65ND - 0.561 ppm
2021ND10ND
20220.209 ppm110.209 ppm
20230.610 ppm110.610 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
2018-06-18816903001-I0.591 ppm
2018-09-17826001901-I0.280 ppm
2018-11-07831111301-I0.503 ppm
2019-10-01927402701-I0.521 ppm
2020-01-21002104103-I0.529 ppm
2020-02-25005603501-I0.561 ppm
2020-04-17010801201-IND
2020-08-26023903501-I0.470 ppm
2020-09-23026703501-I0.435 ppm
2020-11-04030901101-I0.398 ppm
2021-05-13113302201-IND
2022-07-252206015-01-I0.209 ppm
2023-09-2623-587130.610 ppm