Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Clinton Utilities Board

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.

 

8

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

6

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.569 ppm110.569 ppm
20190.721 ppm110.721 ppm
20200.259 ppm21ND - 0.518 ppm
20210.316 ppm21ND - 0.631 ppm
20220.617 ppm110.617 ppm
20230.462 ppm110.462 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
2018-07-100.569 ppm
2019-07-160.721 ppm
2020-07-140.518 ppm
2020-10-13ND
2021-07-130.631 ppm
2021-07-13ND
2022-07-140.617 ppm
2023-07-110.462 ppm