Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Buena Vista Bethel Special 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.

 

30

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

3

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0779 ppm550.0631 ppm - 0.114 ppm
20190.142 ppm550.0614 ppm - 0.242 ppm
20200.167 ppm550.0602 ppm - 0.545 ppm
20210.0746 ppm550.0625 ppm - 0.101 ppm
20220.0679 ppm550.0530 ppm - 0.1000 ppm
20230.0679 ppm550.0586 ppm - 0.0905 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
2018-08-27Q18341770040.114 ppm
2018-08-27Q18341770130.0660 ppm
2018-08-27Q18341770140.0646 ppm
2018-08-27Q18341770030.0631 ppm
2018-11-26Q18476850040.0818 ppm
2019-11-19Q19776410190.0736 ppm
2019-11-19Q19776410180.0614 ppm
2019-11-19Q19776410170.0975 ppm
2019-11-19Q19776410030.242 ppm
2019-11-19Q19776410020.233 ppm
2020-03-16Q20105680160.545 ppm
2020-03-16Q20105680250.0967 ppm
2020-03-16Q20105680260.0602 ppm
2020-03-16Q20105680270.0620 ppm
2020-03-16Q20105680280.0719 ppm
2021-06-21Q21160300130.101 ppm
2021-06-21Q21160300170.0741 ppm
2021-06-21Q21160300160.0625 ppm
2021-06-21Q21160300150.0644 ppm
2021-06-21Q21160300140.0711 ppm
2022-03-28Q22096240070.1000 ppm
2022-03-28Q22096240080.0655 ppm
2022-03-28Q22096240090.0629 ppm
2022-03-28Q22096240100.0530 ppm
2022-03-28Q22096240110.0579 ppm
2023-09-13Q23394100070.0586 ppm
2023-11-07Q23481440120.0905 ppm
2023-11-07Q23481440130.0594 ppm
2023-11-07Q23481440280.0721 ppm
2023-11-07Q23481440290.0590 ppm