Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Wichita Valley 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.

 

30

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

11

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.243 ppm550.0309 ppm - 0.425 ppm
20190.466 ppm550.226 ppm - 0.586 ppm
20200.118 ppm550.0508 ppm - 0.256 ppm
20210.0482 ppm550.0224 ppm - 0.0907 ppm
20220.0480 ppm550.0300 ppm - 0.110 ppm
20230.102 ppm550.0368 ppm - 0.181 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
2018-08-21Q18334740020.0309 ppm
2018-11-14Q18464990010.425 ppm
2018-11-14Q18464990030.251 ppm
2018-11-14Q18464990040.265 ppm
2018-11-14Q18464990050.244 ppm
2019-05-22Q19279830080.510 ppm
2019-05-22Q19279830140.226 ppm
2019-05-22Q19279830070.508 ppm
2019-05-22Q19279830060.501 ppm
2019-05-22Q19279830050.586 ppm
2020-09-03Q20352190080.0508 ppm
2020-11-19Q20462920030.256 ppm
2020-11-19Q20462920040.0838 ppm
2020-11-19Q20462920050.106 ppm
2020-11-19Q20462920060.0927 ppm
2021-03-09Q21060540030.0907 ppm
2021-03-09Q21060540060.0224 ppm
2021-03-09Q21060540050.0270 ppm
2021-03-09Q21060540040.0481 ppm
2021-09-16Q21254110050.0528 ppm
2022-03-09Q22082050050.0300 ppm
2022-03-09Q22082050090.110 ppm
2022-03-09Q22082050100.0300 ppm
2022-03-09Q22082050110.0400 ppm
2022-03-09Q22082050120.0300 ppm
2023-08-02Q23314220010.0838 ppm
2023-08-02Q23314220080.0368 ppm
2023-08-02Q23314220100.181 ppm
2023-08-02Q23314220110.0919 ppm
2023-08-02Q23314220120.114 ppm