Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Harris County Municipal Utility District 23

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.

 

13

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

7

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.370 ppm330.0400 ppm - 0.580 ppm
2019ND20ND
20200.255 ppm21ND - 0.510 ppm
20210.145 ppm21ND - 0.290 ppm
20220.125 ppm220.0900 ppm - 0.160 ppm
20230.330 ppm220.160 ppm - 0.500 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
2018-02-08AE128770.490 ppm
2018-02-08AE128780.0400 ppm
2018-06-26AE313340.580 ppm
2019-02-25AE55539ND
2019-11-19AE89705ND
2020-03-11AF021610.510 ppm
2020-03-11AF02162ND
2021-01-13AF38973ND
2021-01-13AF389740.290 ppm
2022-01-25AF814810.160 ppm
2022-12-19AG220270.0900 ppm
2023-01-17AG245830.500 ppm
2023-04-06AG357260.160 ppm