Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Clayton Water Supply Corporation Plant 3 and 7

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.

 

7

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND10ND
2019ND10ND
20200.0543 ppm110.0543 ppm
2021ND10ND
20220.0201 ppm21ND - 0.0401 ppm
2023ND10ND

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
2018-08-23Q1833946007ND
2019-02-05Q1905214004ND
2020-03-05Q20083420040.0543 ppm
2021-09-28Q2126521007ND
2022-11-03Q22333530010.0401 ppm
2022-11-03Q2233353002ND
2023-07-27Q2330270004ND