Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Richwood

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.

 

21

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

8

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.115 ppm41ND - 0.460 ppm
20190.118 ppm41ND - 0.470 ppm
20200.340 ppm42ND - 1.15 ppm
20210.333 ppm330.0700 ppm - 0.620 ppm
20220.230 ppm31ND - 0.690 ppm
20230.410 ppm31ND - 1.23 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
2018-02-07AE129120.460 ppm
2018-04-05AE21344ND
2018-04-05AE21345ND
2018-04-05AE21346ND
2019-01-09AE49139ND
2019-01-09AE49140ND
2019-02-12AE53957ND
2019-02-12AE539580.470 ppm
2020-03-17AF03158ND
2020-03-17AF031561.15 ppm
2020-03-17AF03155ND
2020-10-15AF307450.210 ppm
2021-04-08AF494490.310 ppm
2021-04-08AF494500.0700 ppm
2021-04-08AF494670.620 ppm
2022-03-28AF906290.690 ppm
2022-03-28AF90652ND
2022-03-28AF90653ND
2023-01-19AG251271.23 ppm
2023-01-19AG25129ND
2023-01-19AG25130ND