Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Lovelady

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.

 

15

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

6

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.117 ppm21ND - 0.233 ppm
20190.120 ppm21ND - 0.240 ppm
20200.159 ppm220.0154 ppm - 0.302 ppm
20210.0600 ppm31ND - 0.180 ppm
20220.120 ppm32ND - 0.340 ppm
20230.0958 ppm330.0139 ppm - 0.239 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
2018-05-21Q1820591005ND
2018-05-21Q18205910070.233 ppm
2019-06-10Q1933752001ND
2019-12-13Q19803430010.240 ppm
2020-12-01Q20480070020.302 ppm
2020-12-01Q20480070030.0154 ppm
2021-02-11Q2104193003ND
2021-04-14Q21096680030.180 ppm
2021-09-27Q2126272007ND
2022-02-09Q2204772012ND
2022-02-09Q22047720150.340 ppm
2022-02-09Q22047720160.0200 ppm
2023-03-09Q23094310040.239 ppm
2023-03-09Q23094310050.0344 ppm
2023-03-09Q23094310060.0139 ppm