Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Commerce

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)

11

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.160 ppm220.0851 ppm - 0.235 ppm
20190.663 ppm220.355 ppm - 0.970 ppm
20200.420 ppm220.325 ppm - 0.515 ppm
20210.597 ppm220.376 ppm - 0.818 ppm
20220.360 ppm220.274 ppm - 0.445 ppm
20230.387 ppm220.347 ppm - 0.426 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
2018-02-14Q18062360060.235 ppm
2018-06-04Q18220470070.0851 ppm
2019-02-21Q19077430090.355 ppm
2019-02-21Q19077430160.970 ppm
2020-05-07Q20180510070.515 ppm
2020-08-04Q20303610050.325 ppm
2021-01-27Q21020320080.376 ppm
2021-01-27Q21020320120.818 ppm
2022-02-10Q22049390060.274 ppm
2022-10-26Q22323380010.445 ppm
2023-02-15Q23062430010.426 ppm
2023-02-15Q23062430020.347 ppm