Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Oquirrh Mountain Water Company

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.

 

11

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

8

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.536 ppm220.527 ppm - 0.546 ppm
20190.641 ppm110.641 ppm
20200.600 ppm110.600 ppm
20210.276 ppm21ND - 0.552 ppm
20220.285 ppm21ND - 0.570 ppm
20230.220 ppm32ND - 0.517 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 Result
2018-03-010.546 ppm
2018-07-130.527 ppm
2019-08-300.641 ppm
2020-08-270.600 ppm
2021-07-210.552 ppm
2021-12-14ND
2022-08-290.570 ppm
2022-08-29ND
2023-01-260.517 ppm
2023-10-050.144 ppm
2023-10-05ND