Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Westwood Beach

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.

 

18

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0414 ppm330.0378 ppm - 0.0484 ppm
20190.0530 ppm330.0365 ppm - 0.0615 ppm
20200.0506 ppm330.0261 ppm - 0.0882 ppm
20210.0496 ppm330.0232 ppm - 0.0952 ppm
20220.0487 ppm330.0318 ppm - 0.0726 ppm
20230.0429 ppm330.0291 ppm - 0.0655 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
2018-10-10Q18404550090.0379 ppm
2018-10-10Q18404550100.0484 ppm
2018-10-10Q18404550030.0378 ppm
2019-06-13Q19358000020.0610 ppm
2019-06-13Q19358000030.0365 ppm
2019-06-13Q19358000040.0615 ppm
2020-05-14Q20195320220.0375 ppm
2020-05-14Q20195320230.0261 ppm
2020-05-14Q20195320240.0882 ppm
2021-05-13Q21125000060.0304 ppm
2021-05-13Q21125000080.0952 ppm
2021-05-13Q21125000070.0232 ppm
2022-07-26Q22211640090.0416 ppm
2022-07-26Q22211640100.0318 ppm
2022-07-26Q22211640120.0726 ppm
2023-02-28Q23079330080.0291 ppm
2023-10-02Q23420890120.0655 ppm
2023-10-02Q23420890130.0341 ppm