Overview

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.

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

ppm = parts per million

National Standard Exists

Health Concerns:

Cancer
Harm to fetal growth and child development

Want to remove
Nitrate and nitrite from your water?

Try these filter technologies:

Reverse Osmosis,

Ion Exchange,

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Nitrate and nitrite around the Country

	UTILITIES REPORTING ABOVE HEALTH GUIDELINES		UTILITIES WITH CONTAMINATION
State	Utilities	People Served	Utilities	People Served
California		982	46,513,792		1,142	53,159,592
New York		437	3,330,741		664	15,942,908
Texas		521	6,312,044		1,123	8,999,329
Georgia		470	6,436,656		621	7,818,704
Ohio		467	6,119,443		700	7,333,015
Illinois		500	6,113,173		774	6,833,607
Virginia		415	3,055,915		670	5,981,157
Alabama		184	2,735,520		396	5,545,927
New Jersey		167	4,606,697		202	5,286,963
Missouri		325	2,951,162		1,024	4,950,406
Louisiana		121	1,612,703		633	4,536,323
Maryland		142	4,200,728		157	4,330,458
Arizona		449	3,808,488		496	3,953,091
Colorado		179	949,569		335	3,932,895
Washington		555	3,073,362		637	3,740,347
Wisconsin		462	3,016,467		665	3,653,840
Indiana		130	2,748,062		210	3,397,721
Oklahoma		462	1,645,363		677	3,275,361
Nevada		124	2,654,328		154	3,058,056
Connecticut		299	1,569,102		460	2,686,877
Oregon		133	520,981		227	2,542,277
Arkansas		148	896,632		472	2,301,923
Utah		94	1,609,416		121	1,943,344
New Mexico		310	1,614,202		490	1,881,573
Kentucky		45	1,592,611		54	1,757,452
Nebraska		489	1,509,363		535	1,612,133
Hawaii		78	1,408,533		87	1,447,623
South Carolina		91	508,535		162	1,433,569
West Virginia		187	954,738		277	1,207,657
Mississippi		111	360,030		233	960,294
Delaware		112	771,103		123	784,336
Idaho		94	726,187		107	734,283
Montana		431	421,896		710	721,422
North Carolina		284	488,952		336	691,967
North Dakota		37	106,200		205	634,505
Wyoming		118	222,732		268	455,202
Rhode Island		49	420,344		68	436,470
Alaska		147	274,371		231	357,730
Tennessee		9	352,846		9	352,846
Maine		129	113,830		187	191,083
Florida		5	4,731		7	5,371
Pennsylvania		2	4,694		2	4,694
Vermont		3	610		3	610

SHOW LESS

Utilities with the highest amounts of nitrate and nitrite, 2021-2023

ALL UTILITIES

LARGE UTILITIES

Utility	Location	Tests	Average level	People served
Woodville Public Utility District	Tulare, CA	2 of 2	26.0 ppm	1,740
Bradford Run Rv	Aguanga, CA	1 of 1	25.0 ppm	75
Papago Butte Domestic Water Improvement District	Maricopa, AZ	2 of 2	25.0 ppm	450
Son Shine Properties	Edison, CA	1 of 1	23.0 ppm	438
Pauma Valley Water Company	Pauma Valley, CA	1 of 1	22.0 ppm	193
Twin Oaks Mobile Home Park Midland	Savoy, TX	1 of 1	21.3 ppm	234
White Horse Ranch Owners Association	Prescott, AZ	1 of 1	21.0 ppm	292
Lemon Cove Water Company	Lemon Cove, CA	1 of 1	19.4 ppm	109
Sierra Mutual Water Company	Porterville, CA	2 of 2	18.5 ppm	37
Villa Grande Domestic Water Improvement District	Eloy, AZ	1 of 1	18.0 ppm	273
Indian Oaks Trailer Park	Temecula, CA	1 of 1	17.0 ppm	40
Morro Bay PW Department - Water Division	Morro Bay, CA	7 of 7	16.9 ppm	10,581
Bonfire Village Hotel	Sacramento, CA	1 of 1	16.0 ppm	30
Greenwood Terrace Mobile Home Subdivision	Bent, TX	1 of 1	15.6 ppm	120
Okarche Rural Water District Inc.	Okarche, OK	12 of 12	15.4 ppm	250
Country Village Mobile Home Estates	Midland, TX	2 of 2	15.2 ppm	138
Salinas Valley State Prison	Soledad, CA	2 of 2	14.8 ppm	2,930
Farm-to-market Associates	Brewster, NY	2 of 2	14.8 ppm	48
Margies Mobile Home Park	Midland, TX	1 of 1	14.7 ppm	60
Grassland Water Supply Corporation	Tahoka, TX	1 of 1	14.4 ppm	55
Franklin Water Systems 3	Des Peres, TX	2 of 2	14.3 ppm	159
Sierra Vista Association	Clovis, CA	1 of 1	14.0 ppm	44
Canadian County Rural Water District # 1	Calumet, OK	12 of 12	14.0 ppm	750
Steele City, Village of	Fairbury, NE	12 of 12	13.9 ppm	60
American Realty Mortgage Company	Maricopa, AZ	11 of 11	13.5 ppm	60
Maricopa Mountain Domestic Water Improvement District 1*	Maricopa, AZ	11 of 11	13.5 ppm	450
Okarche	Okarche, OK	12 of 12	13.3 ppm	1,110
Higuera Apartments	San Luis Obispo, CA	2 of 2	13.2 ppm	30
Turner Colony	Turner, MT	13 of 13	13.1 ppm	50
Diomede Joint Utilities	Little Diomede, AK	2 of 2	12.5 ppm	184
Orwell Water District	Orwell, NY	4 of 4	12.4 ppm	150
City of Corcoran	Corcoran, CA	1 of 1	12.0 ppm	21,835
Corda Rd. Ws	Salinas, CA	1 of 1	12.0 ppm	54
Yuima Municipal Water District Ida*	Pauma Valley, CA	14 of 14	11.9 ppm	769
King Ranch Colony	Lewistown, MT	12 of 12	11.9 ppm	56
Triple R Mutual Water Company	Springville, CA	6 of 6	11.7 ppm	408
Martin County Fresh Water Supply District 1	Lenorah, TX	1 of 1	11.4 ppm	54
Greenfield Public Works Authority	Greenfield, OK	19 of 19	11.4 ppm	123
Geary*	Geary, OK	19 of 19	11.4 ppm	1,258
San Andreas Mutual Water Company	La Selva Beach, CA	3 of 3	11.4 ppm	378
Cleo Springs	Cleo Springs, OK	12 of 12	11.3 ppm	326
Burr, Village of	Burr, NE	14 of 14	11.2 ppm	57
Alma Ranchettes	Chandler, AZ	2 of 2	11.0 ppm	100
Del Oro Grandview Gardens District	Chico, CA	1 of 1	11.0 ppm	320
Country Club Acres Water Inc.	Wickenburg, AZ	1 of 1	11.0 ppm	301
Olive Lane Mobilehome Park	Acampo, CA	1 of 1	11.0 ppm	153
Wini Mutual Water Company	Bakersfield, CA	1 of 1	11.0 ppm	29
Plainview Mutual Water Company - Central Water	Springville, CA	1 of 1	11.0 ppm	138
Chimney Estates	Mayer, AZ	1 of 1	11.0 ppm	90
East Orosi Community Services District	Visalia, CA	2 of 2	11.0 ppm	423

* 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
Morro Bay PW Department - Water Division	Morro Bay, CA	7 of 7	16.9 ppm	10,581
City of Corcoran	Corcoran, CA	1 of 1	12.0 ppm	21,835
Aqua Illinois-Vermilion County*	Kankakee, IL	1 of 1	8.70 ppm	38,000
City of Atwater	Atwater, CA	1 of 1	8.10 ppm	29,479
Grover Beach Water Department	Grover Beach, CA	4 of 4	8.03 ppm	12,701
City of Hastings*	Hastings, NE	168 of 168	7.78 ppm	24,927
Plover Waterworks	Plover, WI	21 of 21	7.57 ppm	12,420
Crescenta Valley CWD	La Crescenta, CA	12 of 12	7.52 ppm	32,665
Chippewa Falls Waterworks	Chippewa Falls, WI	19 of 19	7.44 ppm	13,375
Liberty Water Lpsco*	Litchfield Park, AZ	1 of 1	7.38 ppm	50,770
Haralson County Water Auth.*	Buchanan, GA	12 of 13	7.28 ppm	12,220
San Fernando Water Department	San Fernando, CA	2 of 2	6.85 ppm	23,946
Global Water - Santa Cruz Water Company*	Phoenix, AZ	1 of 1	6.70 ppm	17,005
Elk City	Elk City, OK	3 of 3	6.65 ppm	10,510
Enid*	Enid, OK	6 of 6	6.63 ppm	49,347
City of Vernon*	Vernon, TX	1 of 1	6.59 ppm	10,078
Epcor - San Tan	San Tan Valley, AZ	31 of 31	6.21 ppm	87,435
City of Scottsbluff*	Scottsbluff, NE	48 of 48	5.99 ppm	14,282
Goodyear Water Department	Goodyear, AZ	23 of 23	5.97 ppm	50,001
Weatherford	Weatherford, OK	6 of 6	5.93 ppm	10,833
Widefield WSD*	Colorado Springs, CO	4 of 4	5.80 ppm	22,414
City of Vienna*	Vienna, WV	18 of 18	5.71 ppm	12,507
City of McFarland	Mcfarland, CA	2 of 2	5.67 ppm	15,506
City of Upland*	Upland, CA	7 of 8	5.64 ppm	78,376
South Mesa Water Company*	Calimesa, CA	8 of 8	5.63 ppm	10,061
Burbank Water Department*	Burbank, CA	1 of 1	5.60 ppm	105,451
City of South Pasadena	South Pasadena, CA	4 of 4	5.58 ppm	25,329
Arizona Water Company - Pinal Valley*	Phoenix, AZ	4 of 4	5.55 ppm	113,516
City of Los Banos	Los Banos, CA	12 of 12	5.49 ppm	46,639
Guymon	Guymon, OK	16 of 16	5.45 ppm	11,442
City of Newman Water Department	Newman, CA	1 of 1	5.43 ppm	12,351
Cherokee MD*	Colorado Springs, CO	4 of 4	5.43 ppm	23,000
Janesville Water Utility	Janesville, WI	20 of 20	5.31 ppm	62,720
City of Shafter	Shafter, CA	6 of 6	5.27 ppm	21,036
City of Alhambra	Alhambra, CA	2 of 2	5.25 ppm	83,750
Golden State Water Company (GSWC) - Claremont	San Dimas, CA	12 of 12	5.23 ppm	39,279
City of Gilroy	Gilroy, CA	9 of 9	5.19 ppm	58,108
City of Delano	Delano, CA	21 of 21	5.18 ppm	51,428
Glendale Water Department	Glendale, CA	13 of 13	5.14 ppm	201,334
Johnson Utility - Anthem At Merrill Ranch	San Tan Valley, AZ	2 of 2	5.03 ppm	10,362
Monterey Park Water Department	Monterey Park, CA	2 of 2	5.00 ppm	62,183
Epcor Water - Paradise Valley/Scottsdale	El Mirage, AZ	2 of 2	5.00 ppm	14,107
Glen Cove City	Glen Cove, NY	77 of 77	4.96 ppm	28,000
City of Dinuba	Dinuba, CA	6 of 6	4.93 ppm	26,913
City of Ripon	Ripon, CA	7 of 7	4.81 ppm	15,979
Arroyo Grande,Water Department	Arroyo Grande, CA	6 of 8	4.80 ppm	17,963
Newhall CWD-Newhall*	Santa Clarita, CA	5 of 5	4.78 ppm	17,154
City of Lathrop	Lathrop, CA	2 of 2	4.75 ppm	35,080
Smithfield City	Smithfield, UT	3 of 3	4.73 ppm	10,223
Bainbridge	Bainbridge, GA	24 of 24	4.71 ppm	15,125

EWG’s Tap
Water Database

Nitrate in
Tap Water

CONTAMINANT

Nitrate and nitrite

STATES DETECTED

43

serves

181 million

utilities detected

16,654

states detected

43

serves

128 million

utilities detected

10,497

STATES DETECTED

12

serves

62,437

utilities detected

75

Overview

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

National Standard Exists

Health Concerns:

Want to remove
Nitrate and nitrite from your water?

Nitrate and nitrite around the Country

Utilities with the highest amounts of nitrate and nitrite, 2021-2023

Know the Standards

Take Action

Need help finding a filter?

We’re in this together

Protect your water

EWG’s TapWater Database

CONTAMINANT

Nitrate and nitrite

STATES DETECTED

43

serves

181 million

utilities detected

16,654

states detected

43

serves

128 million

utilities detected

10,497

STATES DETECTED

12

serves

62,437

utilities detected

75

Overview

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

National Standard Exists

Health Concerns:

Want to removeNitrate and nitrite from your water?

Nitrate and nitrite around the Country

Utilities with the highest amounts of nitrate and nitrite, 2021-2023

Know the Standards

Take Action

Need help finding a filter?

We’re in this together

Protect your water

EWG’s Tap
Water Database

Want to remove
Nitrate and nitrite from your water?