Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Alvarado

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.

 

23

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

12

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.146 ppm440.0379 ppm - 0.395 ppm
20190.0498 ppm440.0372 ppm - 0.0663 ppm
20200.0440 ppm440.0315 ppm - 0.0637 ppm
20210.381 ppm330.349 ppm - 0.403 ppm
20220.313 ppm440.230 ppm - 0.377 ppm
20230.459 ppm440.360 ppm - 0.587 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
2018-03-13Q18101440110.395 ppm
2018-03-13Q18101440120.0410 ppm
2018-03-13Q18101440100.0379 ppm
2018-12-14Q18518160010.110 ppm
2019-03-25Q19120750010.0663 ppm
2019-03-25Q19120750020.0446 ppm
2019-03-25Q19120750160.0372 ppm
2019-03-25Q19120750170.0512 ppm
2020-06-30Q20259120330.0315 ppm
2020-06-30Q20259120220.0405 ppm
2020-06-30Q20259120210.0402 ppm
2020-06-30Q20259120200.0637 ppm
2021-04-19Q21099200010.403 ppm
2021-09-17Q21256470030.392 ppm
2021-12-08Q21343970010.349 ppm
2022-03-03Q22074260010.344 ppm
2022-06-13Q22163880010.302 ppm
2022-09-15Q22277370010.230 ppm
2022-10-27Q22326090010.377 ppm
2023-02-15Q23062610010.507 ppm
2023-05-01Q23162830010.382 ppm
2023-07-27Q23302310010.360 ppm
2023-11-15Q23491210010.587 ppm