Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Twin Creeks Special Service 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.

 

10

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

9

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.435 ppm110.435 ppm
2019ND10ND
20200.417 ppm220.370 ppm - 0.464 ppm
20210.462 ppm220.418 ppm - 0.507 ppm
20220.350 ppm220.300 ppm - 0.400 ppm
20230.262 ppm220.158 ppm - 0.366 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
2018-07-160.435 ppm
2019-06-04ND
2020-07-290.370 ppm
2020-07-290.464 ppm
2021-04-200.507 ppm
2021-04-200.418 ppm
2022-05-250.300 ppm
2022-05-250.400 ppm
2023-07-190.158 ppm
2023-07-190.366 ppm