Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Yakima Water Division

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.

 

19

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

12

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND20ND
2019ND10ND
2020N/A00N/A
20210.268 ppm54ND - 0.520 ppm
20220.233 ppm76ND - 0.540 ppm
20230.304 ppm43ND - 0.600 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
2018-03-12ND
2018-03-26ND
2019-03-18ND
2021-01-264071143ND
2021-04-1542067030.300 ppm
2021-05-1341091890.240 ppm
2021-07-2741420410.520 ppm
2021-07-2741420400.280 ppm
2022-01-264240350ND
2022-04-2042682660.260 ppm
2022-04-2142682700.250 ppm
2022-07-1443089180.540 ppm
2022-07-1443089190.180 ppm
2022-08-1643331130.180 ppm
2022-08-2343597660.223 ppm
2023-04-204442826ND
2023-04-2644484980.133 ppm
2023-07-1844803630.483 ppm
2023-08-2445002690.600 ppm