Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Quistorff

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.

 

16

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND30ND
2019ND20ND
2020N/A00N/A
2021ND30ND
2022ND30ND
2023ND50ND

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
2018-05-09ND
2018-08-29ND
2018-10-01ND
2019-08-19ND
2019-09-25ND
2021-05-174113544ND
2021-08-234172918ND
2021-09-094172222ND
2022-05-124283491ND
2022-08-244348868ND
2022-09-224351551ND
2023-05-254571359ND
2023-05-254571359ND
2023-05-254469038ND
2023-08-244560280ND
2023-09-084560068ND