Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Windfern 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)

5

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0200 ppm21ND - 0.0400 ppm
20190.210 ppm21ND - 0.420 ppm
20200.105 ppm21ND - 0.210 ppm
20210.265 ppm21ND - 0.530 ppm
20220.200 ppm220.0800 ppm - 0.320 ppm
20230.120 ppm21ND - 0.240 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
2018-01-29AE108440.0400 ppm
2018-01-29AE10845ND
2019-08-22AE80071ND
2019-08-22AE800720.420 ppm
2020-06-17AF15724ND
2020-06-17AF157320.210 ppm
2021-07-13AF615230.530 ppm
2021-07-13AF61527ND
2022-02-16AF851220.320 ppm
2022-02-16AF851240.0800 ppm
2023-09-18AG564830.240 ppm
2023-09-18AG56484ND