Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Lake Worth

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.

 

18

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

10

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.168 ppm330.0570 ppm - 0.269 ppm
20190.196 ppm32ND - 0.408 ppm
20200.119 ppm330.0104 ppm - 0.239 ppm
20210.118 ppm330.0551 ppm - 0.213 ppm
20220.210 ppm32ND - 0.381 ppm
20230.269 ppm330.0107 ppm - 0.466 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
2018-01-18Q18021830030.178 ppm
2018-01-18Q18021830040.0570 ppm
2018-01-18Q18021830020.269 ppm
2019-02-04Q1905014008ND
2019-02-04Q19050140090.408 ppm
2019-02-04Q19050140100.179 ppm
2020-04-30Q20167350070.108 ppm
2020-04-30Q20167350120.239 ppm
2020-04-30Q20167350130.0104 ppm
2021-03-17Q21070490040.213 ppm
2021-03-17Q21070490060.0551 ppm
2021-03-17Q21070490050.0870 ppm
2022-05-05Q22136180010.381 ppm
2022-05-05Q2213618002ND
2022-10-13Q22310720010.250 ppm
2023-10-02Q23421410090.0107 ppm
2023-10-02Q23421410160.466 ppm
2023-10-02Q23421410170.330 ppm