Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Erie City 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)

9

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.200 ppm330.1000 ppm - 0.300 ppm
20190.167 ppm32ND - 0.300 ppm
20200.124 ppm51ND - 0.620 ppm
20210.240 ppm21ND - 0.480 ppm
20220.515 ppm220.410 ppm - 0.620 ppm
20230.265 ppm21ND - 0.530 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
2018-01-0838492190.200 ppm
2018-05-2139414790.300 ppm
2018-08-2140305120.1000 ppm
2019-05-2143028190.300 ppm
2019-09-104415502ND
2019-11-1844890990.200 ppm
2020-03-1921954370.00ND
2020-04-0122141713.00ND
2020-05-1822335985.000.620 ppm
2020-08-2622923494.00ND
2020-09-2323112310.00ND
2021-04-0624363619.00ND
2021-05-1924561646.000.480 ppm
2022-04-1226577551.000.620 ppm
2022-05-1726770607.000.410 ppm
2023-04-0428825943.00ND
2023-04-1828826388.000.530 ppm