Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Saint Joseph

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.

 

12

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

6

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.315 ppm220.120 ppm - 0.510 ppm
20190.565 ppm220.130 ppm - 1.000 ppm
20200.805 ppm220.110 ppm - 1.50 ppm
20210.545 ppm220.0900 ppm - 1.000 ppm
20221.14 ppm220.0800 ppm - 2.20 ppm
20230.600 ppm21ND - 1.20 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
2018-08-0118H0152-010.510 ppm
2018-08-0118H0152-020.120 ppm
2019-06-0619F0404-011.000 ppm
2019-06-0619F0404-020.130 ppm
2020-04-1520D0526-011.50 ppm
2020-04-1520D0526-020.110 ppm
2021-04-0721D0441-011.000 ppm
2021-04-0721D0441-020.0900 ppm
2022-04-2622D1482-012.20 ppm
2022-04-2622D1482-020.0800 ppm
2023-08-1623H2021-011.20 ppm
2023-08-1623H2021-02ND
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