Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of West

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.

 

17

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

6

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.260 ppm21ND - 0.520 ppm
20190.677 ppm32ND - 1.96 ppm
20200.127 ppm32ND - 0.310 ppm
20210.103 ppm32ND - 0.250 ppm
20220.0667 ppm31ND - 0.200 ppm
20230.0600 ppm31ND - 0.180 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
2018-02-13AE134660.520 ppm
2018-07-17AE33455ND
2019-04-18AE628810.0700 ppm
2019-04-18AE628831.96 ppm
2019-08-12AE77933ND
2020-02-18AE985480.310 ppm
2020-02-18AE98549ND
2020-05-05AF092380.0700 ppm
2021-02-10AF433510.0600 ppm
2021-02-10AF43377ND
2021-02-10AF433760.250 ppm
2022-06-02AF991950.200 ppm
2022-06-02AF99207ND
2022-06-02AF99222ND
2023-05-18AG40958ND
2023-05-18AG40969ND
2023-08-22AG533340.180 ppm