Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Wilsonville

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.

 

18

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

18

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.508 ppm440.270 ppm - 0.810 ppm
20190.555 ppm440.300 ppm - 0.780 ppm
20200.475 ppm440.230 ppm - 0.920 ppm
20210.593 ppm330.320 ppm - 1.10 ppm
20220.665 ppm220.630 ppm - 0.700 ppm
20230.910 ppm110.910 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
2018-01-10201712040042-I0.810 ppm
2018-04-11201803050004-I0.680 ppm
2018-07-18201807190944-I0.270 ppm
2018-10-10201809030044-I0.270 ppm
2019-01-09201812030009-I0.710 ppm
2019-04-10201904110241-I0.780 ppm
2019-07-10201907110430-I0.430 ppm
2019-10-08201910090408-I0.300 ppm
2020-01-02202001030119-I0.920 ppm
2020-04-15202004160157-I0.470 ppm
2020-07-15202007160188-I0.280 ppm
2020-10-14202010150105-I0.230 ppm
2021-01-06202101070374-I1.10 ppm
2021-04-14202104150878-I0.360 ppm
2021-08-02202108030084-I0.320 ppm
2022-02-02202202030907-I0.700 ppm
2022-04-13202204140832-I0.630 ppm
2023-01-11380-34174-2-I0.910 ppm