Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

College Place 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.

 

15

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

1

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND20ND
2019ND30ND
2020N/A00N/A
20210.233 ppm31ND - 0.700 ppm
2022ND40ND
2023ND30ND

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
2018-04-23ND
2018-09-17ND
2019-04-17ND
2019-04-17ND
2019-09-17ND
2021-12-214217300ND
2021-12-2142172940.700 ppm
2021-12-214217291ND
2022-06-084291224ND
2022-06-084291172ND
2022-07-114305233ND
2022-08-184364150ND
2023-01-304403929ND
2023-01-304403934ND
2023-01-304414451ND