Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Fern Bluff Municipal Utility District

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
20180.166 ppm550.0600 ppm - 0.230 ppm
20190.356 ppm550.140 ppm - 0.470 ppm
20200.176 ppm550.0900 ppm - 0.260 ppm
20210.124 ppm550.1000 ppm - 0.160 ppm
20220.106 ppm550.0800 ppm - 0.130 ppm
20230.114 ppm550.0700 ppm - 0.140 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
2018-02-06AE123710.200 ppm
2018-02-06AE123700.200 ppm
2018-04-19AE231370.140 ppm
2018-08-09AE362090.0600 ppm
2018-10-11AE431520.230 ppm
2019-01-17AE503070.440 ppm
2019-04-30AE640250.460 ppm
2019-04-30AE640260.470 ppm
2019-07-01AE727150.270 ppm
2019-10-30AE878890.140 ppm
2020-02-24AE993980.260 ppm
2020-02-24AE993990.230 ppm
2020-04-06AF055720.210 ppm
2020-07-08AF184840.0900 ppm
2020-10-13AF302510.0900 ppm
2021-02-22AF438030.140 ppm
2021-04-13AF498890.160 ppm
2021-08-09AF651590.1000 ppm
2021-08-09AF651610.1000 ppm
2021-10-22AF743930.120 ppm
2022-03-17AF894540.130 ppm
2022-05-05AF956090.130 ppm
2022-09-09AG122520.110 ppm
2022-10-19AG175330.0800 ppm
2022-10-19AG175460.0800 ppm
2023-02-16AG291730.120 ppm
2023-04-27AG383310.130 ppm
2023-04-27AG383340.140 ppm
2023-08-14AG522350.0700 ppm
2023-11-06AG622720.110 ppm