Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Hallsdale-Powell Utility District

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.

 

14

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

14

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.808 ppm220.750 ppm - 0.865 ppm
20190.533 ppm220.382 ppm - 0.684 ppm
20200.608 ppm220.596 ppm - 0.620 ppm
20210.329 ppm220.317 ppm - 0.340 ppm
20220.529 ppm440.446 ppm - 0.612 ppm
20230.781 ppm220.702 ppm - 0.860 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
2018-02-140.865 ppm
2018-02-140.750 ppm
2019-02-250.382 ppm
2019-02-250.684 ppm
2020-05-290.596 ppm
2020-05-290.620 ppm
2021-02-080.340 ppm
2021-02-080.317 ppm
2022-02-140.446 ppm
2022-02-140.612 ppm
2022-02-140.446 ppm
2022-02-140.612 ppm
2023-03-070.702 ppm
2023-03-070.860 ppm