Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Shelton 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.

 

17

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

11

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.151 ppm53ND - 0.310 ppm
20190.162 ppm32ND - 0.295 ppm
2020N/A00N/A
20210.163 ppm32ND - 0.280 ppm
20220.183 ppm32ND - 0.330 ppm
20230.200 ppm32ND - 0.310 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
2018-08-220.181 ppm
2018-08-220.262 ppm
2018-10-09ND
2018-10-09ND
2018-10-090.310 ppm
2019-08-270.190 ppm
2019-10-140.295 ppm
2019-10-14ND
2021-03-174090911ND
2021-10-1141860320.210 ppm
2021-10-1141860310.280 ppm
2022-03-144288333ND
2022-10-0443716060.330 ppm
2022-10-0443618520.220 ppm
2023-10-1245381170.290 ppm
2023-10-1245381160.310 ppm
2023-10-124538111ND