Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Desert Water Supply Corporation

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)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0596 ppm220.0442 ppm - 0.0750 ppm
20190.0531 ppm220.0384 ppm - 0.0678 ppm
20200.0439 ppm220.0364 ppm - 0.0514 ppm
20210.0546 ppm220.0397 ppm - 0.0694 ppm
20220.0496 ppm220.0352 ppm - 0.0639 ppm
20230.0482 ppm220.0332 ppm - 0.0631 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
2018-04-19Q18162260030.0442 ppm
2018-04-19Q18162260070.0750 ppm
2019-05-14Q19248570010.0678 ppm
2019-05-14Q19248570080.0384 ppm
2020-06-30Q20259330070.0514 ppm
2020-06-30Q20259330100.0364 ppm
2021-09-21Q21258780070.0694 ppm
2021-09-21Q21258780120.0397 ppm
2022-05-10Q22139130070.0352 ppm
2022-05-10Q22139130080.0639 ppm
2023-09-19Q23402460070.0631 ppm
2023-09-19Q23402460080.0332 ppm