Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Horseshoe Bend Water System

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.

 

11

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

4

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.829 ppm220.128 ppm - 1.53 ppm
20190.912 ppm220.114 ppm - 1.71 ppm
20200.475 ppm220.0990 ppm - 0.851 ppm
20210.290 ppm220.0783 ppm - 0.502 ppm
20220.0539 ppm110.0539 ppm
20230.0492 ppm220.0284 ppm - 0.0700 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
2018-09-24Q18380170081.53 ppm
2018-09-24Q18380170130.128 ppm
2019-09-17Q19658450071.71 ppm
2019-09-17Q19658450100.114 ppm
2020-06-22Q20249860070.851 ppm
2020-06-22Q20249860080.0990 ppm
2021-03-31Q21081690120.0783 ppm
2021-03-31Q21081690160.502 ppm
2022-11-30Q22358940090.0539 ppm
2023-06-08Q23217140050.0284 ppm
2023-06-08Q23217140060.0700 ppm