Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Barrow Subdivision

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.

 

30

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

28

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.355 ppm550.252 ppm - 0.570 ppm
20190.338 ppm550.0765 ppm - 0.471 ppm
20200.397 ppm550.140 ppm - 0.699 ppm
20210.491 ppm550.320 ppm - 0.666 ppm
20220.523 ppm550.264 ppm - 1.15 ppm
20230.322 ppm550.208 ppm - 0.455 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
2018-02-13Q18058090010.344 ppm
2018-05-08Q18185410010.570 ppm
2018-08-15Q18326650040.252 ppm
2018-08-15Q18326650050.307 ppm
2018-11-29Q18487020010.301 ppm
2019-03-05Q19092250020.471 ppm
2019-06-05Q19321280010.471 ppm
2019-06-25Q19396820020.0765 ppm
2019-09-23Q19674540010.241 ppm
2019-12-12Q19799580010.432 ppm
2020-02-19Q20063940050.699 ppm
2020-02-19Q20063940060.604 ppm
2020-05-21Q20204300010.140 ppm
2020-09-21Q20373880010.204 ppm
2020-12-15Q20496730010.336 ppm
2021-02-23Q21045840060.666 ppm
2021-02-23Q21045840090.373 ppm
2021-06-10Q21152470010.624 ppm
2021-09-15Q21252780010.320 ppm
2021-11-04Q21310020010.473 ppm
2022-02-25Q22066300010.302 ppm
2022-05-11Q22141750010.520 ppm
2022-08-23Q22249830010.264 ppm
2022-12-07Q22366590011.15 ppm
2022-12-07Q22366590020.377 ppm
2023-02-16Q23064080010.358 ppm
2023-05-17Q23186580050.237 ppm
2023-05-17Q23186580060.208 ppm
2023-09-19Q23402470010.351 ppm
2023-11-16Q23494380010.455 ppm