Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Lake Forest 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)

6

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.115 ppm220.0300 ppm - 0.200 ppm
20190.0900 ppm21ND - 0.180 ppm
20200.1000 ppm21ND - 0.200 ppm
20210.105 ppm21ND - 0.210 ppm
20220.0950 ppm21ND - 0.190 ppm
20230.0950 ppm21ND - 0.190 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
2018-06-19AE306140.0300 ppm
2018-06-19AE306170.200 ppm
2019-09-05AE82141ND
2019-09-05AE821660.180 ppm
2020-10-26AF318000.200 ppm
2020-10-26AF31801ND
2021-03-08AF45555ND
2021-03-08AF455560.210 ppm
2022-07-21AG056720.190 ppm
2022-12-12AG21403ND
2023-08-23AG53611ND
2023-08-23AG536120.190 ppm