Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Gonzales

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)

6

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.980 ppm220.0200 ppm - 1.94 ppm
20190.755 ppm21ND - 1.51 ppm
20200.895 ppm21ND - 1.79 ppm
20210.820 ppm220.0600 ppm - 1.58 ppm
20220.185 ppm220.0500 ppm - 0.320 ppm
20230.540 ppm21ND - 1.08 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
2018-02-08AE129151.94 ppm
2018-05-03AE249250.0200 ppm
2019-03-05AE57071ND
2019-03-05AE570731.51 ppm
2020-01-21AE94185ND
2020-01-21AE942181.79 ppm
2021-01-13AF390070.0600 ppm
2021-01-13AF390231.58 ppm
2022-06-22AG018430.320 ppm
2022-06-22AG018440.0500 ppm
2023-02-27AG30446ND
2023-02-27AG304651.08 ppm