Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Hixson 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.

 

17

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

16

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.401 ppm21ND - 0.801 ppm
20190.791 ppm220.782 ppm - 0.799 ppm
20200.863 ppm110.863 ppm
20210.646 ppm220.474 ppm - 0.818 ppm
20220.636 ppm440.492 ppm - 0.780 ppm
20230.715 ppm660.607 ppm - 0.822 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
2018-01-300.801 ppm
2018-01-30ND
2019-01-290.799 ppm
2019-01-290.782 ppm
2020-01-150.863 ppm
2021-01-270.818 ppm
2021-01-270.474 ppm
2022-01-190.492 ppm
2022-01-190.780 ppm
2022-01-190.492 ppm
2022-01-190.780 ppm
2023-01-190.607 ppm
2023-01-190.822 ppm
2023-01-190.607 ppm
2023-01-190.822 ppm
2023-01-190.607 ppm
2023-01-190.822 ppm