Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Poulsbo City Of

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.

 

35

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

5

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.217 ppm71ND - 1.52 ppm
20190.244 ppm71ND - 1.71 ppm
2020N/A00N/A
20210.203 ppm71ND - 1.42 ppm
20220.196 ppm71ND - 1.37 ppm
20230.216 ppm71ND - 1.51 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
2018-04-25ND
2018-04-25ND
2018-07-13ND
2018-07-13ND
2018-07-131.52 ppm
2018-07-13ND
2018-10-25ND
2019-06-181.71 ppm
2019-06-26ND
2019-07-22ND
2019-08-28ND
2019-08-29ND
2019-09-19ND
2019-10-23ND
2021-05-184113537ND
2021-05-184113538ND
2021-05-264118608ND
2021-06-2441314361.42 ppm
2021-07-224142026ND
2021-07-224142025ND
2021-10-264196541ND
2022-05-054278381ND
2022-05-264299904ND
2022-05-274288968ND
2022-06-2143112761.37 ppm
2022-07-154353916ND
2022-07-154353915ND
2022-10-184371890ND
2023-05-224457434ND
2023-06-0744693171.51 ppm
2023-07-054489146ND
2023-07-054489147ND
2023-09-214521289ND
2023-09-214521288ND
2023-10-234535005ND