Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Delta County Municipal Utility District

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)

12

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.194 ppm440.132 ppm - 0.336 ppm
20190.485 ppm330.476 ppm - 0.502 ppm
20201.75 ppm331.73 ppm - 1.76 ppm
20210.129 ppm330.113 ppm - 0.157 ppm
20220.0774 ppm330.0676 ppm - 0.0917 ppm
20231.03 ppm331.02 ppm - 1.04 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
2018-06-21Q18248820020.139 ppm
2018-06-21Q18248820030.336 ppm
2018-06-21Q18248820040.132 ppm
2018-06-21Q18248820010.168 ppm
2019-12-02Q19784630010.476 ppm
2019-12-02Q19784630020.502 ppm
2019-12-02Q19784630030.477 ppm
2020-05-28Q20211850031.76 ppm
2020-05-28Q20211850021.73 ppm
2020-05-28Q20211850011.75 ppm
2021-11-10Q21315740030.157 ppm
2021-11-10Q21315740040.113 ppm
2021-11-29Q21335470010.116 ppm
2022-02-10Q22049380010.0730 ppm
2022-02-10Q22049380020.0917 ppm
2022-02-10Q22049380030.0676 ppm
2023-03-15Q23102270011.03 ppm
2023-03-15Q23102270021.02 ppm
2023-03-15Q23102270031.04 ppm