Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Caryville-Jacksboro Utilities

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)

13

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20181.14 ppm32ND - 2.38 ppm
20190.998 ppm32ND - 2.50 ppm
20200.935 ppm53ND - 2.31 ppm
20210.920 ppm32ND - 2.25 ppm
20221.29 ppm220.203 ppm - 2.38 ppm
20231.13 ppm220.158 ppm - 2.11 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
2018-05-012.38 ppm
2018-05-01ND
2018-05-011.04 ppm
2019-05-010.494 ppm
2019-05-012.50 ppm
2019-05-01ND
2020-03-090.393 ppm
2020-05-05ND
2020-05-052.31 ppm
2020-05-051.97 ppm
2020-08-13ND
2021-05-042.25 ppm
2021-05-040.509 ppm
2021-05-05ND
2022-05-030.203 ppm
2022-11-012.38 ppm
2023-05-020.158 ppm
2023-05-022.11 ppm