Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Four Way Special Utility District

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.

 

24

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

5

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.101 ppm440.0217 ppm - 0.226 ppm
20190.0803 ppm440.0309 ppm - 0.138 ppm
20200.0666 ppm43ND - 0.198 ppm
20210.0714 ppm43ND - 0.146 ppm
20220.120 ppm43ND - 0.224 ppm
20230.0622 ppm440.0109 ppm - 0.110 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 Lab ID Result
2018-03-08Q18097700060.226 ppm
2018-03-08Q18097700070.0217 ppm
2018-03-08Q18097700080.126 ppm
2018-03-08Q18097700050.0322 ppm
2019-06-04Q19311890010.0462 ppm
2019-06-04Q19311890020.138 ppm
2019-06-04Q19311890030.0309 ppm
2019-06-04Q19311890040.106 ppm
2020-06-17Q20246440070.0393 ppm
2020-08-11Q20317970160.198 ppm
2020-08-11Q20317970170.0289 ppm
2020-08-11Q2031797018ND
2021-06-02Q21142090130.0410 ppm
2021-06-02Q21142090160.0985 ppm
2021-06-02Q2114209015ND
2021-06-02Q21142090140.146 ppm
2022-03-07Q22076190040.224 ppm
2022-03-07Q22076190050.145 ppm
2022-03-07Q2207619006ND
2022-03-07Q22076190070.110 ppm
2023-04-24Q23152290010.0250 ppm
2023-06-05Q23208260140.110 ppm
2023-06-05Q23208260150.0109 ppm
2023-06-05Q23208260160.103 ppm