Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Loudon Utilities 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.

 

10

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

10

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.493 ppm220.169 ppm - 0.816 ppm
20190.715 ppm220.618 ppm - 0.811 ppm
20200.933 ppm220.576 ppm - 1.29 ppm
20210.329 ppm110.329 ppm
20220.299 ppm220.299 ppm
20230.524 ppm110.524 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
2018-02-120.169 ppm
2018-03-190.816 ppm
2019-02-130.618 ppm
2019-04-040.811 ppm
2020-02-250.576 ppm
2020-02-251.29 ppm
2021-02-080.329 ppm
2022-02-080.299 ppm
2022-02-080.299 ppm
2023-02-090.524 ppm