Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Aledo

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.

 

24

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

7

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.108 ppm440.0271 ppm - 0.295 ppm
20190.0831 ppm440.0201 ppm - 0.222 ppm
20200.168 ppm440.0789 ppm - 0.394 ppm
20210.169 ppm440.0287 ppm - 0.498 ppm
20220.190 ppm440.0819 ppm - 0.506 ppm
20230.190 ppm440.0550 ppm - 0.438 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
2018-08-01Q18304850110.0709 ppm
2018-08-01Q18304850120.0271 ppm
2018-08-01Q18304850130.295 ppm
2018-08-01Q18304850100.0378 ppm
2019-08-14Q19551700030.0615 ppm
2019-08-14Q19551700040.0289 ppm
2019-08-14Q19551700050.0201 ppm
2019-08-14Q19551700060.222 ppm
2020-05-06Q20178130070.0789 ppm
2020-05-06Q20178130140.118 ppm
2020-05-06Q20178130150.0818 ppm
2020-05-06Q20178130160.394 ppm
2021-05-17Q21126320060.0735 ppm
2021-05-17Q21126320090.498 ppm
2021-05-17Q21126320080.0287 ppm
2021-05-17Q21126320070.0764 ppm
2022-09-29Q22293520010.0822 ppm
2022-09-29Q22293520080.0893 ppm
2022-11-21Q22349520010.506 ppm
2022-11-21Q22349520020.0819 ppm
2023-02-06Q23043840010.0550 ppm
2023-07-12Q23273530150.175 ppm
2023-07-12Q23273530160.0934 ppm
2023-07-12Q23273530170.438 ppm