Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Lenoir City Utility Board

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)

17

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.245 ppm220.142 ppm - 0.347 ppm
20190.815 ppm220.510 ppm - 1.12 ppm
20200.484 ppm220.427 ppm - 0.541 ppm
20210.797 ppm220.364 ppm - 1.23 ppm
20220.776 ppm330.489 ppm - 1.35 ppm
20231.10 ppm660.511 ppm - 1.68 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
2018-02-260.142 ppm
2018-02-260.347 ppm
2019-03-270.510 ppm
2019-03-271.12 ppm
2020-02-260.541 ppm
2020-02-260.427 ppm
2021-01-191.23 ppm
2021-01-190.364 ppm
2022-03-090.489 ppm
2022-03-090.489 ppm
2022-04-271.35 ppm
2023-01-240.511 ppm
2023-01-241.68 ppm
2023-01-240.511 ppm
2023-01-241.68 ppm
2023-01-240.511 ppm
2023-01-241.68 ppm