Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Brattleboro 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)

3

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.200 ppm21ND - 0.400 ppm
20190.150 ppm21ND - 0.300 ppm
20200.0850 ppm21ND - 0.170 ppm
20210.0770 ppm220.0540 ppm - 0.1000 ppm
20220.0700 ppm21ND - 0.140 ppm
20230.105 ppm220.0690 ppm - 0.140 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
2018-09-041809-22336-002ND
2018-09-041809-22336-0010.400 ppm
2019-09-181909-24040-0010.300 ppm
2019-09-181909-24040-002ND
2020-07-212007-18506-0010.170 ppm
2020-07-212007-18506-002ND
2021-08-242108-25029-0010.1000 ppm
2021-08-242108-25029-0020.0540 ppm
2022-08-082208-22173-0010.140 ppm
2022-08-092208-22173-002ND
2023-08-292308-26410-0020.0690 ppm
2023-08-292308-26410-0010.140 ppm