Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Tolar

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)

6

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.112 ppm220.0274 ppm - 0.197 ppm
20190.123 ppm220.0270 ppm - 0.218 ppm
20200.117 ppm220.0301 ppm - 0.203 ppm
20210.106 ppm220.0438 ppm - 0.168 ppm
20220.163 ppm220.0956 ppm - 0.231 ppm
20230.158 ppm220.0731 ppm - 0.242 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
2018-08-02Q18307800070.197 ppm
2018-08-02Q18307800080.0274 ppm
2019-08-26Q19591510010.0270 ppm
2019-08-26Q19591510020.218 ppm
2020-08-12Q20321380070.203 ppm
2020-08-12Q20321380080.0301 ppm
2021-06-07Q21146010110.168 ppm
2021-06-07Q21146010120.0438 ppm
2022-06-20Q22169370070.231 ppm
2022-06-20Q22169370080.0956 ppm
2023-05-10Q23179560030.242 ppm
2023-05-10Q23179560040.0731 ppm