Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Kingston 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.

 

14

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

14

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.474 ppm220.371 ppm - 0.577 ppm
20190.698 ppm220.647 ppm - 0.748 ppm
20200.578 ppm220.442 ppm - 0.714 ppm
20210.551 ppm220.374 ppm - 0.727 ppm
20220.635 ppm440.463 ppm - 0.806 ppm
20230.529 ppm220.465 ppm - 0.593 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
2018-02-050.371 ppm
2018-02-050.577 ppm
2019-02-040.647 ppm
2019-02-040.748 ppm
2020-02-100.442 ppm
2020-02-100.714 ppm
2021-02-010.374 ppm
2021-02-010.727 ppm
2022-02-150.463 ppm
2022-02-150.806 ppm
2022-02-150.463 ppm
2022-02-150.806 ppm
2023-02-150.465 ppm
2023-02-150.593 ppm