Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Concho Rural Water The 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.

 

23

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

23

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.834 ppm220.418 ppm - 1.25 ppm
20192.88 ppm550.355 ppm - 8.93 ppm
20200.349 ppm550.263 ppm - 0.464 ppm
20210.842 ppm550.262 ppm - 1.17 ppm
20220.609 ppm440.218 ppm - 1.18 ppm
20230.234 ppm220.223 ppm - 0.244 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
2018-05-10Q18193840140.418 ppm
2018-05-10Q18193840031.25 ppm
2019-02-28Q19085970060.561 ppm
2019-02-28Q19085970078.93 ppm
2019-05-16Q19265200022.91 ppm
2019-07-31Q19495400011.65 ppm
2019-11-25Q19779790010.355 ppm
2020-03-04Q20083010050.464 ppm
2020-05-20Q20201130050.263 ppm
2020-05-20Q20201130060.350 ppm
2020-07-29Q20296660010.292 ppm
2020-11-17Q20454460010.377 ppm
2021-03-11Q21065230150.807 ppm
2021-03-11Q21065230160.262 ppm
2021-05-19Q21131150010.988 ppm
2021-09-15Q21252580011.17 ppm
2021-11-17Q21323400010.981 ppm
2022-03-03Q22074630041.18 ppm
2022-05-19Q22148350040.614 ppm
2022-05-19Q22148350050.422 ppm
2022-07-28Q22216900010.218 ppm
2023-05-18Q23187990050.244 ppm
2023-05-18Q23187990060.223 ppm