Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

PUD #1 of Asotin County

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.

 

30

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

14

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.268 ppm63ND - 0.736 ppm
20190.229 ppm63ND - 0.670 ppm
2020N/A00N/A
20210.176 ppm63ND - 0.628 ppm
20220.462 ppm63ND - 1.70 ppm
20230.493 ppm63ND - 1.82 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
2018-06-20ND
2018-06-200.736 ppm
2018-06-20ND
2018-06-200.725 ppm
2018-06-20ND
2018-06-200.144 ppm
2019-06-060.106 ppm
2019-06-06ND
2019-06-060.670 ppm
2019-06-06ND
2019-06-060.598 ppm
2019-06-06ND
2021-08-234167048ND
2021-08-2341670450.247 ppm
2021-08-234167046ND
2021-08-2341670470.628 ppm
2021-08-234167044ND
2021-08-2341670490.182 ppm
2022-08-1543340230.318 ppm
2022-08-1543340280.752 ppm
2022-08-154334025ND
2022-08-154334030ND
2022-08-154334020ND
2022-08-1543340311.70 ppm
2023-08-144504045ND
2023-08-144504047ND
2023-08-144504049ND
2023-08-1445040501.82 ppm
2023-08-1445040460.352 ppm
2023-08-1445040480.787 ppm