Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Othello 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.

 

39

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

23

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.920 ppm75ND - 3.60 ppm
20191.05 ppm85ND - 3.53 ppm
2020N/A00N/A
20210.282 ppm115ND - 1.18 ppm
20220.843 ppm63ND - 2.98 ppm
20231.20 ppm76ND - 2.90 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
2018-03-150.200 ppm
2018-04-093.60 ppm
2018-06-110.832 ppm
2018-07-090.635 ppm
2018-08-08ND
2018-08-08ND
2018-12-131.17 ppm
2019-04-223.53 ppm
2019-05-023.03 ppm
2019-06-03ND
2019-07-080.651 ppm
2019-07-080.187 ppm
2019-08-15ND
2019-08-15ND
2019-10-100.972 ppm
2021-03-314107048ND
2021-05-1141133680.233 ppm
2021-07-0641369700.285 ppm
2021-07-1241370910.413 ppm
2021-08-114171577ND
2021-08-114155445ND
2021-08-174155451ND
2021-10-1342001940.996 ppm
2021-10-144194881ND
2021-10-184194883ND
2021-11-1842077771.18 ppm
2022-05-0342813672.98 ppm
2022-07-064303732ND
2022-07-0643038611.12 ppm
2022-08-084323320ND
2022-09-064334361ND
2022-10-0643578080.960 ppm
2023-04-1344600131.22 ppm
2023-05-1544493202.90 ppm
2023-06-2044692670.0300 ppm
2023-07-1044785310.327 ppm
2023-07-104478530ND
2023-09-2545243222.70 ppm
2023-10-1145285111.23 ppm