Nitrate

Weber Basin Water Conservancy District - Central

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.

MORE ABOUT THIS CONTAMINANT

Samples

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

Year	Average result	Samples taken	Detections	Range of results
2014	N/A	0	0	N/A
2015	0.600 ppm	9	9	0.266 ppm - 1.24 ppm
2016	1.08 ppm	4	4	0.464 ppm - 1.76 ppm
2017	0.596 ppm	3	3	0.383 ppm - 1.01 ppm
2018	1.09 ppm	1	1	1.09 ppm
2019	0.392 ppm	3	3	0.356 ppm - 0.428 ppm

ppm = parts per million

State and national drinking water standards and health guidelines

EWG Health Guideline 0.14 ppm

The EWG Health Guideline of 0.14 ppm for nitrate was defined by EWG . This health guideline protects against cancer and harm to fetal growth and development.

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
2015-02-02	0.777 ppm
2015-02-23	0.674 ppm
2015-04-20	0.367 ppm
2015-07-27	0.266 ppm
2015-07-27	0.308 ppm
2015-09-21	0.314 ppm
2015-10-26	1.24 ppm
2015-12-14	0.701 ppm
2015-12-14	0.754 ppm
2016-05-09	0.464 ppm
2016-05-09	0.526 ppm
2016-07-07	1.58 ppm
2016-11-15	1.76 ppm
2017-06-19	0.401 ppm
2017-06-19	0.383 ppm
2017-09-20	1.01 ppm
2018-08-13	1.09 ppm
2019-05-22	0.356 ppm
2019-07-15	0.428 ppm
2019-07-15	0.392 ppm