Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Tempe Water Supply Corporation 1

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)

1

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0425 ppm440.0200 ppm - 0.0600 ppm
2019ND40ND
20200.0300 ppm42ND - 0.0700 ppm
20210.0150 ppm41ND - 0.0600 ppm
2022ND40ND
20230.0550 ppm42ND - 0.150 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
2018-02-13AE134690.0200 ppm
2018-02-13AE134700.0400 ppm
2018-02-13AE134710.0600 ppm
2018-02-13AE134310.0500 ppm
2019-02-26AE55765ND
2019-02-26AE55766ND
2019-02-26AE55768ND
2019-02-26AE55787ND
2020-02-12AE979930.0700 ppm
2020-02-12AE98007ND
2020-02-12AE98008ND
2020-02-12AE980280.0500 ppm
2021-01-27AF412110.0600 ppm
2021-01-27AF41254ND
2021-01-27AF41253ND
2021-01-27AF41252ND
2022-02-09AF83875ND
2022-02-09AF83878ND
2022-02-09AF83879ND
2022-02-09AF83880ND
2023-02-16AG29180ND
2023-02-16AG29182ND
2023-02-16AG292050.0700 ppm
2023-05-30AG422180.150 ppm