Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Blackland 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)

10

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.551 ppm220.519 ppm - 0.582 ppm
20190.630 ppm220.617 ppm - 0.643 ppm
20200.710 ppm220.330 ppm - 1.09 ppm
20210.729 ppm220.727 ppm - 0.731 ppm
20220.160 ppm220.0897 ppm - 0.231 ppm
20230.177 ppm220.0624 ppm - 0.291 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
2018-11-27Q18479950010.519 ppm
2018-11-27Q18479950020.582 ppm
2019-11-18Q19775810010.617 ppm
2019-11-18Q19775810020.643 ppm
2020-10-20Q20408260010.330 ppm
2020-10-20Q20408260031.09 ppm
2021-02-01Q21028440030.731 ppm
2021-02-01Q21028440040.727 ppm
2022-09-12Q22269390010.0897 ppm
2022-09-12Q22269390020.231 ppm
2023-07-24Q23292350020.0624 ppm
2023-07-24Q23292350030.291 ppm