Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Pecan Grove

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.

 

14

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

2

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.140 ppm330.120 ppm - 0.170 ppm
20190.128 ppm440.1000 ppm - 0.150 ppm
20200.140 ppm110.140 ppm
20210.0650 ppm21ND - 0.130 ppm
20220.0750 ppm220.0500 ppm - 0.1000 ppm
20230.0850 ppm220.0500 ppm - 0.120 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
2018-08-06AE357310.120 ppm
2018-08-06AE357420.130 ppm
2018-10-31AE449910.170 ppm
2019-01-10AE492950.120 ppm
2019-01-10AE492960.150 ppm
2019-05-23AE678110.140 ppm
2019-09-24AE843150.1000 ppm
2020-11-10AF339020.140 ppm
2021-03-08AF45535ND
2021-03-08AF455600.130 ppm
2022-09-08AG119740.0500 ppm
2022-12-06AG208170.1000 ppm
2023-01-10AG235880.0500 ppm
2023-01-10AG235890.120 ppm