Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Palm Valley

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.

 

13

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

8

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.227 ppm330.0700 ppm - 0.530 ppm
20190.235 ppm220.1000 ppm - 0.370 ppm
20200.200 ppm220.0700 ppm - 0.330 ppm
20210.575 ppm220.170 ppm - 0.980 ppm
20220.925 ppm220.780 ppm - 1.07 ppm
20230.465 ppm220.0800 ppm - 0.850 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
2018-02-01AE117070.530 ppm
2018-04-26AE240420.0800 ppm
2018-06-12AE293450.0700 ppm
2019-02-20AE549400.370 ppm
2019-07-17AE747420.1000 ppm
2020-03-19AF036790.0700 ppm
2020-08-18AF239660.330 ppm
2021-03-11AF466660.980 ppm
2021-06-21AF587420.170 ppm
2022-03-03AF873591.07 ppm
2022-03-03AF873670.780 ppm
2023-02-02AG269770.850 ppm
2023-05-18AG409530.0800 ppm