Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Thomas Acres

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.

 

10

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0483 ppm220.0439 ppm - 0.0527 ppm
20190.0633 ppm220.0631 ppm - 0.0634 ppm
20200.0651 ppm220.0642 ppm - 0.0659 ppm
20210.0583 ppm220.0579 ppm - 0.0586 ppm
20220.0533 ppm220.0497 ppm - 0.0568 ppm
2023N/A00N/A

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
2018-12-10Q18503330060.0527 ppm
2018-12-10Q18503330070.0439 ppm
2019-10-21Q19730810050.0634 ppm
2019-10-21Q19730810140.0631 ppm
2020-10-13Q20403570080.0642 ppm
2020-10-13Q20403570090.0659 ppm
2021-10-07Q21278690060.0579 ppm
2021-10-07Q21278690070.0586 ppm
2022-11-14Q22340740010.0497 ppm
2022-11-14Q22340740020.0568 ppm