Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of River Oaks

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.

 

4

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

3

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.151 ppm110.151 ppm
20190.106 ppm110.106 ppm
20200.361 ppm110.361 ppm
20210.170 ppm110.170 ppm
20220.348 ppm11110.130 ppm - 0.565 ppm
20230.395 ppm11110.214 ppm - 0.759 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
2018-03-15Q18107540070.151 ppm
2019-04-29Q19169070010.106 ppm
2020-02-18Q20060860030.361 ppm
2021-03-09Q21061200030.170 ppm