Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Alba

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.

 

18

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0247 ppm32ND - 0.0386 ppm
20190.0323 ppm330.0120 ppm - 0.0443 ppm
20200.0322 ppm330.0173 ppm - 0.0403 ppm
20210.0284 ppm330.0126 ppm - 0.0369 ppm
20220.0436 ppm330.0388 ppm - 0.0501 ppm
20230.0279 ppm330.01000 ppm - 0.0377 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
2018-03-12Q18098830140.0355 ppm
2018-03-12Q18098830060.0386 ppm
2018-09-18Q1837028003ND
2019-10-07Q19713440030.0406 ppm
2019-10-07Q19713440040.0120 ppm
2019-10-07Q19713440050.0443 ppm
2020-04-01Q20132730040.0389 ppm
2020-04-01Q20132730050.0173 ppm
2020-04-01Q20132730060.0403 ppm
2021-06-30Q21172180150.0369 ppm
2021-06-30Q21172180170.0357 ppm
2021-06-30Q21172180160.0126 ppm
2022-05-25Q22151560080.0388 ppm
2022-05-25Q22151560090.0420 ppm
2022-05-25Q22151560100.0501 ppm
2023-06-22Q23239760110.0377 ppm
2023-06-22Q23239760120.01000 ppm
2023-06-22Q23239760130.0361 ppm