Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Kingsbridge 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.

 

12

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

10

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.600 ppm220.500 ppm - 0.700 ppm
20190.510 ppm220.450 ppm - 0.570 ppm
20200.465 ppm220.410 ppm - 0.520 ppm
20210.285 ppm220.250 ppm - 0.320 ppm
20220.0950 ppm220.0900 ppm - 0.1000 ppm
20230.385 ppm220.280 ppm - 0.490 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
2018-04-11AE219460.500 ppm
2018-04-11AE219470.700 ppm
2019-01-25AE514810.570 ppm
2019-01-25AE514830.450 ppm
2020-02-11AE977870.410 ppm
2020-02-11AE977920.520 ppm
2021-01-19AF396660.320 ppm
2021-01-19AF396680.250 ppm
2022-03-09AF882310.0900 ppm
2022-03-09AF882330.1000 ppm
2023-04-12AG364090.280 ppm
2023-04-12AG364110.490 ppm