Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Hohenwald Water System

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)

18

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.574 ppm330.337 ppm - 0.882 ppm
20190.541 ppm330.281 ppm - 0.835 ppm
20200.514 ppm330.348 ppm - 0.717 ppm
20210.487 ppm330.437 ppm - 0.534 ppm
20220.603 ppm330.543 ppm - 0.635 ppm
20230.466 ppm330.400 ppm - 0.503 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
2018-06-260.882 ppm
2018-06-260.502 ppm
2018-06-260.337 ppm
2019-07-100.281 ppm
2019-07-100.835 ppm
2019-07-100.506 ppm
2020-07-090.476 ppm
2020-07-090.717 ppm
2020-07-090.348 ppm
2021-08-120.490 ppm
2021-08-120.534 ppm
2021-08-120.437 ppm
2022-08-260.543 ppm
2022-08-260.631 ppm
2022-08-260.635 ppm
2023-08-080.400 ppm
2023-08-080.503 ppm
2023-08-080.496 ppm