Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Brodhead Creek Reg Water Authority

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.

 

17

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

12

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.400 ppm220.280 ppm - 0.520 ppm
20190.337 ppm220.219 ppm - 0.455 ppm
20200.415 ppm220.320 ppm - 0.510 ppm
20210.147 ppm31ND - 0.440 ppm
20220.240 ppm550.0600 ppm - 0.470 ppm
20230.303 ppm32ND - 0.500 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
2018-03-1323018570020.520 ppm
2018-03-1323018570010.280 ppm
2019-03-14T9C0975-010.219 ppm
2019-03-14T9C0975-020.455 ppm
2020-03-2321869069.000.510 ppm
2020-03-2321869067.000.320 ppm
2021-03-0824082359.00ND
2021-03-0824082360.000.440 ppm
2021-11-0125608091.00ND
2022-02-2326137292.000.160 ppm
2022-03-0226309371.000.470 ppm
2022-03-0226309369.000.390 ppm
2022-05-2326671902.000.120 ppm
2022-08-2227258231.000.0600 ppm
2023-03-0128543696.000.500 ppm
2023-03-0128543695.000.410 ppm
2023-03-2928543966.00ND