Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Westminster 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.

 

19

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0354 ppm330.0106 ppm - 0.0487 ppm
20190.0773 ppm330.0261 ppm - 0.128 ppm
20200.0392 ppm330.0131 ppm - 0.0538 ppm
20210.0528 ppm440.0200 ppm - 0.0669 ppm
20220.0474 ppm330.0393 ppm - 0.0536 ppm
20230.0417 ppm330.0242 ppm - 0.0509 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
2018-06-20Q18246910070.0487 ppm
2018-06-20Q18246910020.0468 ppm
2018-08-23Q18340330070.0106 ppm
2019-02-12Q19067280150.0261 ppm
2019-02-12Q19067280160.128 ppm
2019-02-12Q19067280170.0777 ppm
2020-08-05Q20309150090.0508 ppm
2020-08-05Q20309150100.0538 ppm
2020-08-05Q20309150110.0131 ppm
2021-12-06Q21337840090.0641 ppm
2021-12-06Q21337840150.0669 ppm
2021-12-06Q21337840140.0600 ppm
2021-12-06Q21337840100.0200 ppm
2022-05-11Q22141880110.0536 ppm
2022-05-11Q22141880120.0493 ppm
2022-05-11Q22141880130.0393 ppm
2023-08-15Q23340730080.0509 ppm
2023-08-15Q23340730090.0242 ppm
2023-08-15Q23340730120.0501 ppm