Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Horsepen Bayou 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)

8

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0350 ppm21ND - 0.0700 ppm
20190.255 ppm21ND - 0.510 ppm
20200.610 ppm220.580 ppm - 0.640 ppm
20210.775 ppm220.670 ppm - 0.880 ppm
20220.145 ppm220.0800 ppm - 0.210 ppm
20230.580 ppm220.570 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
2018-03-28AE20308ND
2018-03-28AE203100.0700 ppm
2019-02-20AE549540.510 ppm
2019-02-20AE54956ND
2020-02-03AE964820.640 ppm
2020-04-27AF082020.580 ppm
2021-03-23AF477640.670 ppm
2021-06-09AF571100.880 ppm
2022-05-03AF952140.0800 ppm
2022-05-03AF952150.210 ppm
2023-05-10AG398800.590 ppm
2023-05-10AG398810.570 ppm