Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Whitworth Water District 2

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.

 

71

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

71

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20181.55 ppm15150.479 ppm - 2.82 ppm
20191.60 ppm13130.527 ppm - 3.14 ppm
2020N/A00N/A
20211.60 ppm16160.465 ppm - 2.99 ppm
20221.51 ppm13130.512 ppm - 2.67 ppm
20231.47 ppm14140.742 ppm - 3.23 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
2018-03-201.01 ppm
2018-03-202.50 ppm
2018-03-200.960 ppm
2018-03-200.836 ppm
2018-04-301.83 ppm
2018-04-300.479 ppm
2018-04-301.43 ppm
2018-04-301.14 ppm
2018-05-212.82 ppm
2018-05-210.605 ppm
2018-05-212.77 ppm
2018-05-211.22 ppm
2018-05-212.27 ppm
2018-05-302.46 ppm
2018-06-210.907 ppm
2019-04-180.828 ppm
2019-04-181.15 ppm
2019-04-181.06 ppm
2019-04-182.65 ppm
2019-05-091.72 ppm
2019-05-212.71 ppm
2019-05-211.57 ppm
2019-05-212.03 ppm
2019-05-233.14 ppm
2019-05-281.60 ppm
2019-05-280.527 ppm
2019-06-180.838 ppm
2019-06-210.920 ppm
2021-03-1840940910.853 ppm
2021-03-1840940920.962 ppm
2021-03-1840940892.77 ppm
2021-03-1840940861.30 ppm
2021-03-1841085930.962 ppm
2021-03-1841085881.30 ppm
2021-03-1841085902.77 ppm
2021-05-0641295831.77 ppm
2021-05-0641295811.69 ppm
2021-05-0641295822.99 ppm
2021-05-0641295800.846 ppm
2021-05-1441295891.14 ppm
2021-05-1441295882.38 ppm
2021-05-1741172741.89 ppm
2021-05-1741135960.465 ppm
2021-05-1741135951.56 ppm
2022-03-3142615711.06 ppm
2022-03-3142615720.766 ppm
2022-04-0442615702.28 ppm
2022-04-0442615690.512 ppm
2022-04-2142718771.24 ppm
2022-04-2142718762.03 ppm
2022-05-1842846482.67 ppm
2022-05-1842846491.55 ppm
2022-05-3142940151.91 ppm
2022-06-2743098010.875 ppm
2022-06-2743097990.779 ppm
2022-06-2843041781.43 ppm
2022-07-1443098062.54 ppm
2023-04-1944428730.754 ppm
2023-04-1944428721.63 ppm
2023-04-1944428710.993 ppm
2023-04-1944428702.26 ppm
2023-04-2744521661.67 ppm
2023-04-2744521680.759 ppm
2023-04-2744521650.781 ppm
2023-04-2744521670.742 ppm
2023-05-1044485331.11 ppm
2023-05-1044485321.35 ppm
2023-05-1944521341.05 ppm
2023-05-1944521361.77 ppm
2023-05-1944521352.54 ppm
2023-05-2644557373.23 ppm