Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Port Orchard 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.

 

22

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

4

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND40ND
2019ND40ND
2020N/A00N/A
20210.212 ppm62ND - 0.650 ppm
20220.157 ppm41ND - 0.626 ppm
20230.140 ppm41ND - 0.558 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
2018-04-23ND
2018-04-23ND
2018-04-23ND
2018-04-23ND
2019-04-18ND
2019-04-18ND
2019-04-18ND
2019-08-26ND
2021-04-194102188ND
2021-04-194102187ND
2021-04-194102189ND
2021-05-2541243370.650 ppm
2021-05-2541186120.620 ppm
2021-08-024159371ND
2022-03-2542682380.626 ppm
2022-03-254268235ND
2022-03-254268237ND
2022-03-254268239ND
2023-04-034434628ND
2023-04-034434620ND
2023-04-0344346260.558 ppm
2023-12-064560990ND