Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Harris County Municipal Utility District 62

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.

 

10

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0900 ppm110.0900 ppm
20190.0800 ppm110.0800 ppm
20200.0350 ppm21ND - 0.0700 ppm
2021ND20ND
20220.0500 ppm21ND - 0.1000 ppm
2023ND20ND

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
2018-06-12AE293720.0900 ppm
2019-05-02AE645230.0800 ppm
2020-05-13AF108450.0700 ppm
2020-09-21AF27830ND
2021-03-09AF45849ND
2021-06-11AF57630ND
2022-06-08AF99947ND
2022-06-08AF999500.1000 ppm
2023-06-12AG43869ND
2023-06-12AG43885ND