Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Theresa Waterworks

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.

 

8

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0600 ppm220.0560 ppm - 0.0640 ppm
20190.0290 ppm21ND - 0.0580 ppm
2020N/A00N/A
20210.0325 ppm21ND - 0.0650 ppm
20220.0550 ppm21ND - 0.110 ppm
2023N/A00N/A

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
2018-08-2210757860.0560 ppm
2018-08-2210757870.0640 ppm
2019-07-021132017ND
2019-07-0211320180.0580 ppm
2021-04-121248257ND
2021-04-1212482550.0650 ppm
2022-04-2752014373ND
2022-04-27520143720.110 ppm