Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Hollands Quarter Water Supply Corporation

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.

 

12

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

6

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0902 ppm220.0104 ppm - 0.170 ppm
20190.137 ppm220.0840 ppm - 0.189 ppm
20200.183 ppm220.0255 ppm - 0.341 ppm
20210.220 ppm220.0223 ppm - 0.417 ppm
20220.0756 ppm220.0121 ppm - 0.139 ppm
20230.274 ppm220.253 ppm - 0.294 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
2018-08-13Q18321860010.170 ppm
2018-08-13Q18321860100.0104 ppm
2019-08-26Q19592650020.0840 ppm
2019-08-26Q19592650060.189 ppm
2020-12-02Q20480120040.341 ppm
2020-12-02Q20480120050.0255 ppm
2021-08-10Q21212110030.417 ppm
2021-08-10Q21212110070.0223 ppm
2022-06-21Q22171530060.139 ppm
2022-06-21Q22171530070.0121 ppm
2023-07-27Q23302720040.294 ppm
2023-07-27Q23302720050.253 ppm