Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Georgetown, City of

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.

 

16

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

6

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.200 ppm21ND - 0.400 ppm
20190.130 ppm31ND - 0.390 ppm
20200.160 ppm31ND - 0.480 ppm
20210.240 ppm21ND - 0.480 ppm
20220.230 ppm31ND - 0.690 ppm
20230.217 ppm31ND - 0.650 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
2018-02-07AE07316ND
2018-02-07AE073150.400 ppm
2019-01-09AE238230.390 ppm
2019-01-09AE23822ND
2019-06-17AE32045ND
2020-01-15AE42954ND
2020-01-15AE429720.480 ppm
2020-01-22AE43348ND
2021-02-03AE605600.480 ppm
2021-02-03AE60559ND
2022-02-01AE78288ND
2022-02-01AE782890.690 ppm
2022-04-11AE81915ND
2023-02-06AE964680.650 ppm
2023-02-07AE96604ND
2023-02-07AE96608ND