Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Ridgefield Public Works

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.

 

28

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

3

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND40ND
2019ND40ND
2020N/A00N/A
20210.126 ppm51ND - 0.630 ppm
20220.122 ppm102ND - 0.690 ppm
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
2018-08-08ND
2018-08-08ND
2018-08-08ND
2018-08-08ND
2019-08-07ND
2019-08-07ND
2019-08-07ND
2019-08-07ND
2021-08-184212275ND
2021-08-1841943660.630 ppm
2021-08-184194359ND
2021-08-184194362ND
2021-08-184194357ND
2022-08-174364178ND
2022-08-174364177ND
2022-08-174364182ND
2022-08-174364183ND
2022-08-1743641720.530 ppm
2022-08-174341940ND
2022-08-174341933ND
2022-08-174341934ND
2022-08-174341941ND
2022-08-1743419390.690 ppm
2023-08-234512744ND
2023-08-234512743ND
2023-08-234512747ND
2023-08-234512746ND
2023-08-234512745ND