Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Chimney Hill Municipal 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)

7

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0800 ppm220.0600 ppm - 0.1000 ppm
20190.0700 ppm220.0600 ppm - 0.0800 ppm
20200.330 ppm21ND - 0.660 ppm
20210.420 ppm220.150 ppm - 0.690 ppm
20220.300 ppm220.260 ppm - 0.340 ppm
20230.460 ppm220.330 ppm - 0.590 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
2018-04-17AE226730.0600 ppm
2018-04-17AE226740.1000 ppm
2019-02-13AE542350.0800 ppm
2019-05-22AE675170.0600 ppm
2020-02-06AE97214ND
2020-04-29AF086210.660 ppm
2021-02-09AF431670.690 ppm
2021-04-20AF506430.150 ppm
2022-02-14AF844550.340 ppm
2022-02-14AF844620.260 ppm
2023-02-02AG270180.590 ppm
2023-04-27AG383520.330 ppm