Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Paw Blue Mountain Division

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.

 

25

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

14

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.240 ppm220.0500 ppm - 0.430 ppm
20190.200 ppm330.0200 ppm - 0.400 ppm
20200.274 ppm550.01000 ppm - 0.490 ppm
20210.370 ppm550.01000 ppm - 0.700 ppm
20220.330 ppm550.0700 ppm - 0.580 ppm
20230.274 ppm550.0400 ppm - 0.580 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
2018-08-01406459010.0500 ppm
2018-08-01406450010.430 ppm
2019-07-16452388010.180 ppm
2019-08-05458289010.400 ppm
2019-08-05458290010.0200 ppm
2020-07-2022668196.000.470 ppm
2020-07-2022668194.000.490 ppm
2020-08-1722861409.000.390 ppm
2020-08-1722861413.000.01000 ppm
2020-08-1722861411.000.01000 ppm
2021-08-0925083727.000.700 ppm
2021-08-0925083729.000.650 ppm
2021-09-1325278117.000.01000 ppm
2021-09-1325278119.000.01000 ppm
2021-09-1325278087.000.480 ppm
2022-08-0327300382.000.390 ppm
2022-08-0427300414.000.580 ppm
2022-08-0427300380.000.530 ppm
2022-08-2227300415.000.0800 ppm
2022-08-2927300662.000.0700 ppm
2023-07-2429363617.000.0400 ppm
2023-07-2429363615.000.0400 ppm
2023-07-2429363599.000.570 ppm
2023-10-0229944352.000.580 ppm
2023-10-0329944322.000.140 ppm