Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Rusk

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.

 

30

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

4

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.110 ppm550.0650 ppm - 0.147 ppm
20190.0748 ppm550.0616 ppm - 0.116 ppm
20200.0800 ppm550.0640 ppm - 0.116 ppm
20210.0993 ppm550.0596 ppm - 0.164 ppm
20220.0799 ppm550.0494 ppm - 0.145 ppm
20230.0705 ppm550.0381 ppm - 0.105 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
2018-03-21Q18113950050.109 ppm
2018-03-21Q18113950090.147 ppm
2018-03-21Q18113950130.142 ppm
2018-03-21Q18113950170.0877 ppm
2018-03-21Q18113950040.0650 ppm
2019-10-09Q19722070130.0685 ppm
2019-10-09Q19722070140.0637 ppm
2019-10-09Q19722070150.0642 ppm
2019-10-09Q19722070160.0616 ppm
2019-10-09Q19722070170.116 ppm
2020-10-01Q20386260290.0640 ppm
2020-10-01Q20386260300.0681 ppm
2020-10-01Q20386260310.0705 ppm
2020-10-01Q20386260320.116 ppm
2020-11-19Q20461580030.0814 ppm
2021-03-25Q21077790010.164 ppm
2021-11-02Q21306910130.0658 ppm
2021-11-02Q21306910140.120 ppm
2021-11-02Q21306910150.0596 ppm
2021-11-02Q21306910160.0869 ppm
2022-10-24Q22319830050.0789 ppm
2022-10-24Q22319830060.0657 ppm
2022-10-24Q22319830070.0604 ppm
2022-10-24Q22319830080.0494 ppm
2022-10-24Q22319830090.145 ppm
2023-06-28Q23250310150.0381 ppm
2023-06-28Q23250310160.105 ppm
2023-06-28Q23250310170.0745 ppm
2023-06-28Q23250310180.0682 ppm
2023-09-11Q23387550040.0669 ppm