Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Hills of Oliver Creek

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.

 

12

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

4

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.215 ppm220.0630 ppm - 0.367 ppm
20190.200 ppm220.0645 ppm - 0.336 ppm
20200.107 ppm220.0449 ppm - 0.170 ppm
20210.0720 ppm220.0370 ppm - 0.107 ppm
20220.111 ppm220.0406 ppm - 0.182 ppm
20230.0727 ppm220.0472 ppm - 0.0981 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
2018-11-08Q18447810010.367 ppm
2018-11-08Q18447810080.0630 ppm
2019-05-21Q19271670010.336 ppm
2019-05-21Q19271670020.0645 ppm
2020-11-18Q20457470050.170 ppm
2020-11-18Q20457470060.0449 ppm
2021-06-29Q21169760140.107 ppm
2021-06-29Q21169760150.0370 ppm
2022-11-15Q22343340090.182 ppm
2022-11-15Q22343340100.0406 ppm
2023-07-20Q23287220010.0981 ppm
2023-07-20Q23287220020.0472 ppm