Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Sunnyside

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.

 

27

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

14

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.667 ppm63ND - 1.70 ppm
20190.752 ppm52ND - 2.06 ppm
2020N/A00N/A
20211.08 ppm74ND - 2.20 ppm
20220.790 ppm42ND - 2.14 ppm
20231.10 ppm53ND - 2.24 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
2018-06-061.70 ppm
2018-08-07ND
2018-09-10ND
2018-09-101.60 ppm
2018-10-03ND
2018-10-030.700 ppm
2019-03-271.70 ppm
2019-08-14ND
2019-09-112.06 ppm
2019-10-16ND
2019-11-05ND
2021-04-0640957722.14 ppm
2021-08-254164006ND
2021-08-254164005ND
2021-08-2541640071.07 ppm
2021-09-2141807952.20 ppm
2021-09-2141727372.15 ppm
2021-09-214172738ND
2022-04-0642629592.14 ppm
2022-08-2443343351.02 ppm
2022-08-244334337ND
2022-08-244334339ND
2023-05-2444967182.24 ppm
2023-05-2444967172.19 ppm
2023-06-134548835ND
2023-06-134548836ND
2023-12-0645602331.06 ppm