Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

St Albans Water Department

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)

10

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.280 ppm220.160 ppm - 0.400 ppm
20190.330 ppm220.260 ppm - 0.400 ppm
20200.260 ppm220.190 ppm - 0.330 ppm
20210.0850 ppm21ND - 0.170 ppm
20220.270 ppm220.150 ppm - 0.390 ppm
20230.310 ppm220.140 ppm - 0.480 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
2018-01-161801-01208-0020.400 ppm
2018-01-161801-01208-0010.160 ppm
2019-01-141901-01036-0020.400 ppm
2019-01-141901-01036-0010.260 ppm
2020-01-132001-01003-0020.330 ppm
2020-01-132001-01003-0010.190 ppm
2021-01-112101-00905-0020.170 ppm
2021-01-112101-00905-001ND
2022-01-192201-01533-0020.390 ppm
2022-01-192201-01533-0010.150 ppm
2023-02-212302-04852-0010.140 ppm
2023-02-212302-04852-0020.480 ppm