Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Harris County Municipal Utility District 372

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.

 

17

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

9

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.500 ppm110.500 ppm
20190.300 ppm110.300 ppm
20200.280 ppm440.150 ppm - 0.450 ppm
20210.175 ppm440.0700 ppm - 0.310 ppm
20220.127 ppm330.110 ppm - 0.150 ppm
20230.0925 ppm440.0800 ppm - 0.1000 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
2018-01-11AE087940.500 ppm
2019-04-04AE611340.300 ppm
2020-03-02AF005300.450 ppm
2020-06-09AF145980.220 ppm
2020-07-23AF203490.300 ppm
2020-11-20AF353930.150 ppm
2021-03-05AF455720.240 ppm
2021-04-13AF498670.310 ppm
2021-08-30AF683240.0800 ppm
2021-10-25AF744160.0700 ppm
2022-02-14AF844500.110 ppm
2022-05-18AF976350.120 ppm
2022-12-12AG213860.150 ppm
2023-02-15AG289800.0900 ppm
2023-04-19AG372470.1000 ppm
2023-08-01AG506620.1000 ppm
2023-10-30AG614140.0800 ppm