Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Nash Forreston 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.

 

14

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

4

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.168 ppm330.0543 ppm - 0.287 ppm
20190.0771 ppm220.0332 ppm - 0.121 ppm
20200.0921 ppm330.0484 ppm - 0.119 ppm
20210.155 ppm220.140 ppm - 0.169 ppm
20220.0750 ppm220.0400 ppm - 0.110 ppm
20230.242 ppm220.0911 ppm - 0.392 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
2018-01-24Q18027430070.0543 ppm
2018-01-24Q18027430080.163 ppm
2018-01-24Q18027430170.287 ppm
2019-05-09Q19231600090.0332 ppm
2019-05-09Q19231600100.121 ppm
2020-03-05Q20083570070.0484 ppm
2020-03-05Q20083570080.119 ppm
2020-10-13Q20399450030.109 ppm
2021-05-05Q21115840070.140 ppm
2021-05-05Q21115840080.169 ppm
2022-01-18Q22015890070.0400 ppm
2022-01-18Q22015890080.110 ppm
2023-02-28Q23080150070.392 ppm
2023-02-28Q23080150080.0911 ppm