Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District 46

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
20180.470 ppm110.470 ppm
2019ND10ND
2020ND10ND
20211.28 ppm111.28 ppm
20220.918 ppm440.430 ppm - 1.77 ppm
20231.18 ppm440.220 ppm - 1.97 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
2018-04-05AE213590.470 ppm
2019-09-03AE81592ND
2020-02-13AE98290ND
2021-04-22AF510311.28 ppm
2022-05-16AF968450.430 ppm
2022-08-15AG090510.560 ppm
2022-09-15AG130960.910 ppm
2022-12-14AG217401.77 ppm
2023-03-01AG310181.93 ppm
2023-04-11AG361540.610 ppm
2023-07-10AG474400.220 ppm
2023-12-12AG662471.97 ppm