Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Highridge 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.

 

12

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

12

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.275 ppm220.260 ppm - 0.290 ppm
20190.470 ppm220.470 ppm
20200.400 ppm220.380 ppm - 0.420 ppm
20210.245 ppm220.220 ppm - 0.270 ppm
20220.485 ppm220.470 ppm - 0.500 ppm
20230.325 ppm220.320 ppm - 0.330 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
2018-06-2770566050020.260 ppm
2018-08-0870609550010.290 ppm
2019-06-1270933850010.470 ppm
2019-06-1270933850020.470 ppm
2020-07-2922717924.000.420 ppm
2020-07-2922717926.000.380 ppm
2021-07-1524940118.000.270 ppm
2021-07-1524940120.000.220 ppm
2022-06-2226956610.000.500 ppm
2022-06-2226956612.000.470 ppm
2023-12-1430346337.000.320 ppm
2023-12-1430346338.000.330 ppm