Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Charlotte

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.

 

12

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND20ND
2019ND20ND
2020ND20ND
2021ND20ND
2022ND20ND
20230.0450 ppm21ND - 0.0900 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
2018-05-04AE25216ND
2018-06-11AE29143ND
2019-03-11AE57733ND
2019-03-11AE57735ND
2020-05-08AF10255ND
2020-05-08AF10278ND
2021-03-10AF46226ND
2021-09-20AF70284ND
2022-09-08AG11961ND
2022-09-08AG11962ND
2023-08-17AG529520.0900 ppm
2023-08-17AG52959ND