Nitrate and nitrite

Status: National drinking water standard exists

Nitrate and nitrite enter water from fertilizer runoff, septic tanks and urban runoff. These contaminants can cause oxygen deprivation for infants and increase the risk of cancer. Nitrite is significantly more toxic than nitrate. Click here to read more about nitrate.

2017-2019:

FOUND

FOUND ABOVE HEALTH GUIDELINES

FOUND ABOVE LEGAL LIMIT

states detected

16,702

utilities detected

153 million

people served

states over health guideline

13,033

utilities over health guideline

124 million

people served over health guideline

states over legal limit

utilities over legal limit

199,000

people served over legal limit

Health concerns for nitrate and nitrite

Cancer

Harm to fetal growth and child development

State and national drinking water standards and health guidelines

EWG Health Guideline 0.14 ppm

The 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

ppm = parts per million

States reporting nitrate and nitrite in drinking water

	UTILITIES REPORTING ABOVE HEALTH GUIDELINES			UTILITIES WITH CONTAMINATION
State	Utilities	People Served		Utilities	People Served
California		1,084	28,559,134			1,132	30,884,469
New York		403	3,640,335			474	13,981,885
Illinois		730	8,650,608			899	7,791,025
Georgia		538	6,752,943			620	7,653,213
Virginia		569	4,958,967			728	6,491,321
Ohio		421	5,773,884			514	6,144,877
New Jersey		213	5,740,383			231	6,072,115
Texas		559	4,263,922			1,089	5,619,729
Alabama		342	4,582,687			399	5,212,871
Missouri		543	3,836,658			1,038	5,082,590
Louisiana		155	1,635,244			666	4,356,497
Maryland		115	4,343,149			117	4,343,440
Colorado		219	1,231,989			323	4,176,445
Wisconsin		547	3,212,793			686	3,571,804
Oklahoma		654	3,151,672			734	3,378,880
Indiana		185	2,987,735			228	3,304,272
Washington		834	3,159,009			888	3,263,465
Arizona		229	3,102,573			236	3,130,570
Oregon		249	1,478,551			315	2,822,353
Nevada		153	2,790,247			162	2,792,020
Connecticut		363	2,014,921			477	2,695,312
Kentucky		69	2,155,454			71	2,084,950
Arkansas		276	1,463,992			408	1,915,353
New Mexico		355	1,681,397			421	1,758,546
Nebraska		515	1,520,692			543	1,547,807
Utah		64	1,343,787			67	1,465,370
Hawaii		80	1,445,255			81	1,445,362
West Virginia		319	1,239,660			322	1,276,035
Mississippi		153	654,789			238	966,851
Delaware		102	865,484			109	882,778
Montana		540	558,524			689	718,202
Idaho		369	627,621			386	653,770
District Of Columbia		4	664,572			3	648,882
North Dakota		84	363,820			205	631,069
Tennessee		11	585,885			14	592,131
South Carolina		44	128,284			68	539,944
North Carolina		241	293,014			255	461,461
Rhode Island		59	436,861			64	448,850
Alaska		189	383,079			230	437,519
Wyoming		189	342,322			249	435,560
Florida		15	127,000			19	390,420
Maine		152	151,500			194	252,245
Pennsylvania		16	287,839			9	245,744
Kansas		20	248,088			15	242,581
New Hampshire		51	63,319			76	71,909
Michigan		4	37,115			3	36,843
Iowa		2	4,608			1	3,785
Minnesota		1	3,295			1	3,295
Vermont		4	2,911			4	2,911
South Dakota		0	0			1	450

LESS

Filtering technologies that reduce nitrate and nitrite

Utilities with the highest amounts of nitrate and nitrite, 2017-2019

ALL UTILITIES

LARGE UTILITIES

Utility	Location	Tests	Average level	People served
River Rd. Ws #25	Gonzales, CA	1 of 1	39.6 ppm	65
Vineyard Ave. Estates Mutual Water Company	Oxnard, CA	1 of 1	36.0 ppm	1,200
Eola Water Supply Corporation	Eola, TX	8 of 8	33.4 ppm	165
Valley View Ranches	Gilroy, CA	1 of 1	25.0 ppm	45
El Camino Water Company Inc.	Spreckels, CA	1 of 1	24.3 ppm	90
City of Weinert	Weinert, TX	7 of 7	23.5 ppm	162
Sierra Mutual Water Company	Porterville, CA	2 of 2	19.5 ppm	39
M & J Trailer Home Community	Sandy, UT	1 of 1	18.5 ppm	27
Lake Success Mobile Lodge	Porterville, CA	2 of 2	18.2 ppm	40
Thunderbird Farms Domestic Water Improvement District	Maricopa, AZ	1 of 1	17.0 ppm	1,600
Wheeler Municipal Water System	Wheeler, TX	7 of 7	16.9 ppm	1,651
San Miguel Ws #01	Royal Oaks, CA	3 of 3	16.6 ppm	100
Coxville Water Association #1	Benton City, WA	1 of 1	16.5 ppm	52
Delta Water Association	Lynden, WA	2 of 2	16.4 ppm	450
Turkey Municipal Water System*	Turkey, TX	7 of 7	16.2 ppm	421
Okarche Rural Water District Inc.	Okarche, OK	24 of 24	15.8 ppm	250
Greenwood Terrace Mobile Home Subdivision	Las Cruces, TX	8 of 8	15.8 ppm	120
Santa Monica	Santa Monica, CA	2 of 2	15.5 ppm	92,185
Lemon Cove Water Company	Lemon Cove, CA	2 of 2	15.2 ppm	200
Franklin Water Systems 3	Southlake, TX	20 of 20	15.2 ppm	159
South Midland County Water Systems	Kingsland, TX	7 of 7	15.0 ppm	165
Rra Hinds Wildcat Water System	Wichita Falls, TX	8 of 8	14.9 ppm	178
Northside Water Supply Corporation	Vernon, TX	8 of 8	14.9 ppm	200
Soults Mutual Water Company	Tulare, CA	1 of 1	14.8 ppm	120
Grassland Water Supply Corporation	Tahoka, TX	8 of 8	14.5 ppm	55
Klondike Independent School District	Lamesa, TX	7 of 7	14.5 ppm	264
Rra Guthrie Dumont Water System	Wichita Falls, TX	6 of 6	14.4 ppm	402
Diomede Joint Utilities	Little Diomede, AK	4 of 4	14.4 ppm	184
Canadian County Rural Water District # 1	Calumet, OK	24 of 24	14.3 ppm	750
Whitharral Water Supply Corporation	Whitharral, TX	7 of 7	14.0 ppm	200
Beverly Grand Mutual Water	Arroyo Grande, CA	1 of 1	14.0 ppm	108
Baldy Mountain Ranch	Mountain Center, CA	1 of 1	14.0 ppm	60
City of Dodson	Dodson, TX	8 of 8	14.0 ppm	109
Monterey Park Tract Community Services District	Ceres, CA	1 of 1	13.8 ppm	186
Sherwood Estates Manufactured Townhome C	Midland, TX	9 of 9	13.7 ppm	102
Morro Bay PW Department - Water Division	Morro Bay, CA	16 of 16	13.7 ppm	10,327
Okarche	Okarche, OK	24 of 24	13.6 ppm	1,110
Villa Grande Domestic Water Improvement District	Eloy, AZ	24 of 24	13.5 ppm	283
City of Quitaque	Quitaque, TX	7 of 7	13.2 ppm	423
City of Byers*	Byers, TX	8 of 8	13.1 ppm	496
Higuera Apartments	San Luis Obispo, CA	1 of 1	13.0 ppm	30
Lakewood Estates Water Company	Tucson, AZ	1 of 1	13.0 ppm	807
Lake Morena Oak Shores Mw Company	Campo, CA	5 of 5	12.7 ppm	700
Eaton, Town of	Eaton, CO	1 of 1	12.5 ppm	6,000
Homestead Water Company	Moriarty, NM	43 of 43	12.1 ppm	200
Grandfield*	Grandfield, OK	48 of 48	12.1 ppm	1,110
Devol	Devol, OK	48 of 48	12.1 ppm	150
Cotton County Rural Water District # 1	Randlett, OK	48 of 48	12.1 ppm	600
Lsid - Tonyville	Lindsay, CA	1 of 1	12.0 ppm	500
Lsid-strathmore System	Lindsay, CA	1 of 1	12.0 ppm	500

* This water utility supplies finished drinking water to at least one other water utility. The purchasing utility is not required to test for or report Nitrate and nitrite, but it likely has the contaminant in its water supply.

Utility	Location	Tests	Average level	People served
Santa Monica	Santa Monica, CA	2 of 2	15.5 ppm	92,185
Morro Bay PW Department - Water Division	Morro Bay, CA	16 of 16	13.7 ppm	10,327
City of Corona*	Corona, CA	8 of 9	10.5 ppm	155,896
San Fernando Water Department	San Fernando, CA	9 of 9	9.66 ppm	23,839
Crescenta Valley CWD	La Crescenta, CA	58 of 58	9.21 ppm	32,000
Chelan County PUD 1	Wenatchee, WA	1 of 1	9.17 ppm	14,189
Linda County Water District	Marysville, CA	1 of 6	8.33 ppm	13,800
City of Vernon*	Vernon, TX	8 of 8	7.88 ppm	11,002
City of Manteca	Manteca, CA	8 of 8	7.76 ppm	66,451
City of Hastings*	Hastings, NE	319 of 319	7.68 ppm	25,224
Enid*	Enid, OK	12 of 12	7.66 ppm	49,347
Johnson Utilities	San Tan Valley, AZ	52 of 52	7.53 ppm	62,158
Goodyear Water Department*	Goodyear, AZ	18 of 18	7.45 ppm	50,001
Florence Water Company	Florence, AZ	16 of 16	7.25 ppm	15,900
Grover Beach Water Department	Grover Beach, CA	4 of 4	7.13 ppm	13,156
Plover Waterworks	Plover, WI	6 of 6	7.00 ppm	12,420
Vineland Water & Sewer Utility	Vineland, NJ	1 of 1	6.80 ppm	36,250
City of Alhambra	Alhambra, CA	10 of 10	6.57 ppm	84,679
Aqua Illinois-Vermilion County*	Kankakee, IL	2 of 2	6.55 ppm	38,000
Elk City	Elk City, OK	6 of 6	6.50 ppm	10,510
City of Scottsbluff*	Scottsbluff, NE	103 of 103	6.45 ppm	15,030
Decatur*	Decatur, IL	2 of 2	6.30 ppm	76,122
Arizona Water Company - Pinal Valley*	Phoenix, AZ	81 of 81	6.29 ppm	88,019
City of Woodland	Woodland, CA	4 of 4	6.25 ppm	56,464
Cal/Am Water Company - San Marino	Rosemead, CA	55 of 55	6.21 ppm	40,804
Haralson County Water Auth.*	Buchanan, GA	24 of 30	6.19 ppm	12,220
Liberty Water Lpsco*	Avondale, AZ	85 of 85	6.17 ppm	50,045
Security Waster District	Colorado Springs, CO	13 of 13	6.14 ppm	19,000
City of Corcoran	Corcoran, CA	1 of 2	6.00 ppm	24,813
City of Gilroy	Gilroy, CA	17 of 17	5.96 ppm	39,050
Weatherford	Weatherford, OK	16 of 16	5.92 ppm	10,833
Rehoboth Beach Water Department*	Rehoboth Beach, DE	265 of 265	5.87 ppm	30,000
Arizona Water Company - White Tanks	Phoenix, AZ	13 of 13	5.81 ppm	10,186
City of Lindsay	Lindsay, CA	2 of 2	5.80 ppm	13,445
Monrovia Water Department	Monrovia, CA	14 of 14	5.73 ppm	36,590
Janesville Water Utility	Janesville, WI	8 of 8	5.72 ppm	62,720
City of Ceres	Ceres, CA	11 of 11	5.62 ppm	42,666
City of Grandview	Grandview, WA	481 of 539	5.57 ppm	11,010
Espanola Water System*	Espanola, NM	41 of 41	5.46 ppm	12,012
South Adams County Water and Sanitation District	Commerce City, CO	296 of 296	5.38 ppm	63,808
Glen Cove City	Glen Cove, NY	121 of 122	5.35 ppm	28,000
City of Newman Water Department	Newman, CA	1 of 1	5.35 ppm	10,586
City of Salisbury	Salisbury, MD	5 of 5	5.35 ppm	30,343
City of Mountain View	Mountain View, CA	5 of 5	5.34 ppm	76,000
Mattoon*	Mattoon, IL	2 of 2	5.25 ppm	19,000
Hicksville WD	Hicksville, NY	718 of 723	5.22 ppm	48,000
Glendale Water Department	Glendale, CA	3 of 3	5.20 ppm	195,799
City of Los Banos	Los Banos, CA	12 of 12	5.17 ppm	37,168
City of Riverside*	Riverside, CA	22 of 22	5.15 ppm	303,871
Town of Queen Creek	Queen Creek, AZ	24 of 24	5.14 ppm	81,919