Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Whitewright

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.

 

18

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0610 ppm330.0599 ppm - 0.0629 ppm
20190.0609 ppm330.0535 ppm - 0.0717 ppm
20200.0605 ppm330.0517 ppm - 0.0682 ppm
20210.0622 ppm330.0578 ppm - 0.0690 ppm
20220.0674 ppm330.0600 ppm - 0.0752 ppm
20230.0704 ppm330.0520 ppm - 0.0806 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
2018-03-29Q18130910110.0599 ppm
2018-03-29Q18130910120.0601 ppm
2018-03-29Q18130910100.0629 ppm
2019-09-03Q19612360100.0717 ppm
2019-09-03Q19612360110.0574 ppm
2019-09-03Q19612360120.0535 ppm
2020-10-14Q20403020130.0682 ppm
2020-10-14Q20403020140.0616 ppm
2020-10-14Q20403020150.0517 ppm
2021-09-28Q21264570080.0690 ppm
2021-09-28Q21264570100.0597 ppm
2021-09-28Q21264570090.0578 ppm
2022-06-13Q22163700040.0752 ppm
2022-06-13Q22163700050.0600 ppm
2022-06-13Q22163700060.0671 ppm
2023-07-25Q23294730070.0787 ppm
2023-07-25Q23294730080.0520 ppm
2023-07-25Q23294730090.0806 ppm