Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Gastonia Scurry Special Utility District

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.

 

27

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

25

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.371 ppm220.349 ppm - 0.392 ppm
20190.406 ppm550.245 ppm - 0.532 ppm
20200.457 ppm550.318 ppm - 0.664 ppm
20210.337 ppm550.246 ppm - 0.445 ppm
20220.346 ppm550.166 ppm - 0.470 ppm
20230.353 ppm550.0848 ppm - 0.759 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
2018-11-28Q18482550040.349 ppm
2018-11-28Q18482550010.392 ppm
2019-01-22Q19031880010.397 ppm
2019-01-22Q19031880020.390 ppm
2019-04-29Q19169320020.532 ppm
2019-08-01Q19504320010.245 ppm
2019-10-15Q19726650010.465 ppm
2020-01-15Q20016310010.525 ppm
2020-01-15Q20016310020.664 ppm
2020-04-23Q20162040010.404 ppm
2020-08-13Q20323260010.318 ppm
2020-12-01Q20480660030.373 ppm
2021-02-09Q21038690010.445 ppm
2021-04-19Q21099460030.354 ppm
2021-07-30Q21199980010.246 ppm
2021-10-26Q21301140010.278 ppm
2021-10-26Q21301140040.363 ppm
2022-02-09Q22047480010.390 ppm
2022-02-09Q22047480020.470 ppm
2022-06-08Q22160590010.166 ppm
2022-09-09Q22269340010.296 ppm
2022-12-06Q22367280010.410 ppm
2023-02-06Q23043620010.361 ppm
2023-02-06Q23043620020.759 ppm
2023-06-06Q23210920010.116 ppm
2023-08-17Q23346940010.0848 ppm
2023-11-15Q23490760010.444 ppm