Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Harris County Municipal Utility District 122

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)

1

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0300 ppm21ND - 0.0600 ppm
20190.145 ppm220.140 ppm - 0.150 ppm
2020ND20ND
2021ND20ND
20220.0450 ppm21ND - 0.0900 ppm
20230.0250 ppm21ND - 0.0500 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
2018-09-24AE41185ND
2018-09-24AE411870.0600 ppm
2019-07-08AE733120.140 ppm
2019-07-08AE733150.150 ppm
2020-08-31AF25766ND
2020-08-31AF25767ND
2021-04-13AF49866ND
2021-04-13AF49869ND
2022-02-14AF844520.0900 ppm
2022-02-14AF84453ND
2023-08-01AG50653ND
2023-08-01AG506800.0500 ppm