Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Lucas

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)

12

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.372 ppm220.317 ppm - 0.426 ppm
20190.495 ppm220.492 ppm - 0.498 ppm
20200.301 ppm220.298 ppm - 0.303 ppm
20210.737 ppm220.722 ppm - 0.751 ppm
20220.335 ppm220.323 ppm - 0.346 ppm
20230.996 ppm220.993 ppm - 0.999 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
2018-10-19Q18420280010.317 ppm
2018-10-19Q18420280020.426 ppm
2019-11-07Q19761200010.498 ppm
2019-11-07Q19761200020.492 ppm
2020-11-16Q20451290030.298 ppm
2020-11-16Q20451290040.303 ppm
2021-02-23Q21045290010.751 ppm
2021-02-23Q21045290020.722 ppm
2022-05-23Q22149520030.323 ppm
2022-05-23Q22149520040.346 ppm
2023-02-14Q23057800010.999 ppm
2023-02-14Q23057800020.993 ppm