Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Alto

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)

4

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.159 ppm220.146 ppm - 0.172 ppm
20190.0915 ppm21ND - 0.183 ppm
20200.102 ppm220.0465 ppm - 0.157 ppm
20210.0303 ppm21ND - 0.0605 ppm
2022ND20ND
20230.0197 ppm21ND - 0.0393 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
2018-05-29Q18213020080.172 ppm
2018-12-11Q18508970010.146 ppm
2019-03-20Q19117200050.183 ppm
2019-05-20Q1927027001ND
2020-10-22Q20411980070.0465 ppm
2020-10-22Q20411980080.157 ppm
2021-10-14Q2128845011ND
2021-10-14Q21288450120.0605 ppm
2022-03-03Q2207391008ND
2022-03-03Q2207391009ND
2023-04-20Q2314880003ND
2023-04-20Q23148800080.0393 ppm