Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Germantown Water Department

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)

2

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.113 ppm220.112 ppm - 0.113 ppm
20190.183 ppm21ND - 0.365 ppm
2020N/A00N/A
20210.128 ppm220.126 ppm - 0.130 ppm
2022N/A00N/A
20230.256 ppm220.136 ppm - 0.375 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
2018-12-140.113 ppm
2018-12-140.112 ppm
2019-12-18ND
2019-12-180.365 ppm
2021-12-150.130 ppm
2021-12-150.126 ppm
2023-12-130.375 ppm
2023-12-130.136 ppm