Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Cleveland Utilities

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.

 

18

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

17

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.257 ppm21ND - 0.514 ppm
20190.591 ppm220.238 ppm - 0.944 ppm
20200.658 ppm220.346 ppm - 0.969 ppm
20210.469 ppm220.229 ppm - 0.708 ppm
20220.599 ppm440.233 ppm - 0.965 ppm
20230.675 ppm660.309 ppm - 1.04 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
2018-02-06ND
2018-02-060.514 ppm
2019-02-050.944 ppm
2019-02-050.238 ppm
2020-02-030.346 ppm
2020-02-030.969 ppm
2021-02-020.229 ppm
2021-02-020.708 ppm
2022-02-010.965 ppm
2022-02-010.233 ppm
2022-02-010.965 ppm
2022-02-010.233 ppm
2023-01-311.04 ppm
2023-01-310.309 ppm
2023-01-311.04 ppm
2023-01-310.309 ppm
2023-01-311.04 ppm
2023-01-310.309 ppm