Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Leigh Wsc-rural

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
20180.0691 ppm110.0691 ppm
20190.0717 ppm110.0717 ppm
20200.0433 ppm220.0154 ppm - 0.0712 ppm
20210.0335 ppm220.0156 ppm - 0.0514 ppm
20220.0520 ppm220.0462 ppm - 0.0577 ppm
20230.0564 ppm220.0447 ppm - 0.0681 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
2018-04-24Q18166400060.0691 ppm
2019-05-22Q19277320080.0717 ppm
2020-03-23Q20121810010.0712 ppm
2020-08-25Q20340960130.0154 ppm
2021-03-05Q21059790060.0156 ppm
2021-03-05Q21059790130.0514 ppm
2022-04-27Q22125980030.0577 ppm
2022-10-31Q22329580080.0462 ppm
2023-08-02Q23314520060.0681 ppm
2023-08-02Q23314520080.0447 ppm