Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Town of Ponder

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.

 

24

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

10

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.102 ppm440.0438 ppm - 0.198 ppm
20190.154 ppm440.0392 ppm - 0.395 ppm
20200.136 ppm440.0411 ppm - 0.352 ppm
20210.222 ppm440.0424 ppm - 0.434 ppm
20220.253 ppm440.0614 ppm - 0.542 ppm
20230.126 ppm440.0369 ppm - 0.248 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
2018-03-07Q18094610110.0438 ppm
2018-03-07Q18094610120.117 ppm
2018-03-07Q18094610130.0502 ppm
2018-03-13Q18101920050.198 ppm
2019-04-04Q19136970010.126 ppm
2019-04-04Q19136970020.395 ppm
2019-04-04Q19136970070.0555 ppm
2019-04-04Q19136970130.0392 ppm
2020-10-08Q20395500270.0866 ppm
2020-10-08Q20395500280.0643 ppm
2020-10-08Q20395500290.0411 ppm
2020-10-08Q20395500300.352 ppm
2021-06-28Q21167570170.434 ppm
2021-06-28Q21167570200.293 ppm
2021-06-28Q21167570190.0424 ppm
2021-06-28Q21167570180.118 ppm
2022-06-30Q22185500120.153 ppm
2022-06-30Q22185500130.0614 ppm
2022-06-30Q22185500160.254 ppm
2022-06-30Q22185500180.542 ppm
2023-09-14Q23396660270.0369 ppm
2023-09-14Q23396660280.170 ppm
2023-09-14Q23396660290.0482 ppm
2023-09-14Q23396660320.248 ppm