Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Livingston Water Department

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.

 

7

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

7

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.300 ppm110.300 ppm
20190.290 ppm110.290 ppm
20200.428 ppm110.428 ppm
20211.94 ppm220.269 ppm - 3.62 ppm
20220.244 ppm110.244 ppm
20230.308 ppm110.308 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
2018-03-070.300 ppm
2019-04-090.290 ppm
2020-03-180.428 ppm
2021-04-070.269 ppm
2021-07-133.62 ppm
2022-04-060.244 ppm
2023-04-060.308 ppm