Nitrate

Provo City

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.

MORE ABOUT THIS CONTAMINANT

Samples

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

Year	Average result	Samples taken	Detections	Range of results
2014	0.475 ppm	4	3	ND - 0.900 ppm
2015	0.740 ppm	5	5	0.300 ppm - 1.60 ppm
2016	0.400 ppm	5	5	0.200 ppm - 0.700 ppm
2017	0.570 ppm	5	5	0.180 ppm - 1.71 ppm
2018	0.243 ppm	3	3	0.187 ppm - 0.348 ppm
2019	0.415 ppm	5	5	0.101 ppm - 1.19 ppm

ppm = parts per million

State and national drinking water standards and health guidelines

EWG Health Guideline 0.14 ppm

The EWG Health Guideline of 0.14 ppm for nitrate was defined by EWG . This health guideline protects against cancer and harm to fetal growth and development.

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	Result
2014-07-21	0.600 ppm
2014-07-21	ND
2014-07-21	0.900 ppm
2014-07-21	0.400 ppm
2015-08-27	0.400 ppm
2015-08-27	0.300 ppm
2015-08-27	1.000 ppm
2015-08-27	1.60 ppm
2015-08-27	0.400 ppm
2016-08-22	0.400 ppm
2016-08-22	0.700 ppm
2016-08-22	0.400 ppm
2016-08-22	0.200 ppm
2016-09-06	0.300 ppm
2017-04-13	0.300 ppm
2017-09-19	0.347 ppm
2017-09-19	0.315 ppm
2017-09-19	1.71 ppm
2017-09-19	0.180 ppm
2018-08-27	0.187 ppm
2018-08-27	0.348 ppm
2018-08-27	0.195 ppm
2019-07-30	1.19 ppm
2019-07-30	0.311 ppm
2019-07-30	0.267 ppm
2019-07-30	0.204 ppm
2019-07-30	0.101 ppm