Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

First U D of Hawkins Company

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.

 

23

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

23

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.978 ppm660.621 ppm - 2.28 ppm
20190.966 ppm660.700 ppm - 1.85 ppm
20200.923 ppm550.597 ppm - 1.87 ppm
20211.08 ppm220.669 ppm - 1.50 ppm
20220.850 ppm220.519 ppm - 1.18 ppm
20230.698 ppm220.697 ppm - 0.699 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 Result
2018-01-170.621 ppm
2018-02-140.956 ppm
2018-02-142.28 ppm
2018-04-110.659 ppm
2018-07-110.662 ppm
2018-10-100.687 ppm
2019-01-160.944 ppm
2019-02-191.85 ppm
2019-02-190.802 ppm
2019-04-220.700 ppm
2019-07-170.724 ppm
2019-11-180.777 ppm
2020-01-201.87 ppm
2020-01-200.847 ppm
2020-05-180.597 ppm
2020-07-200.625 ppm
2020-09-150.675 ppm
2021-03-171.50 ppm
2021-03-170.669 ppm
2022-04-131.18 ppm
2022-04-130.519 ppm
2023-02-140.697 ppm
2023-02-140.699 ppm