Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Rolling Creek 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)

12

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.530 ppm220.510 ppm - 0.550 ppm
20191.05 ppm221.04 ppm - 1.05 ppm
20200.895 ppm220.840 ppm - 0.950 ppm
20210.625 ppm220.600 ppm - 0.650 ppm
20220.270 ppm220.200 ppm - 0.340 ppm
20230.415 ppm220.260 ppm - 0.570 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
2018-03-12AE177290.510 ppm
2018-03-12AE177340.550 ppm
2019-05-14AE660821.04 ppm
2019-05-14AE661011.05 ppm
2020-03-24AF041940.950 ppm
2020-03-24AF042310.840 ppm
2021-06-17AF585250.600 ppm
2021-06-17AF585260.650 ppm
2022-03-24AF904000.340 ppm
2022-05-04AF954360.200 ppm
2023-01-23AG255890.570 ppm
2023-08-07AG514520.260 ppm