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Nitrate at Elk River

Minnesota · system MN1710004 · serves 19,532 people

Placed from Minnesota's annual per-system state figures — one step further from the tap than a raw sample. The three-year range below is the annual spread.

The reading

1.20 mg/L as N
annual state figure · 2025
0 to 1.2
three-year range (mg/L as N)
annual state figure
what this result rests on
19,532
people served

A single reading is not a complete account of what a household drinks, so the three-year range and the number of tests behind it are shown too — a reading backed by many tests over three years is a fuller picture than one from a single sample.

Source: annual figures reported to the Minnesota Department of Health - the stored report · Minnesota · system MN1710004 · the three years from August 9, 2023 to August 9, 2026

Where this ranks

This system's reported nitrate sits around the middle nationally. Systems reporting less serve about 74% of everyone on NitrateSmart's tracked supply; the other about 26% are on systems reporting the same or more. That compares what systems reported, not what comes out of any one tap.

Natural backgroundHuman impact likelyHuman impact clearHealth-study rangeAbove the federal limit

What "Human impact likely" means

Nitrate here is low, but a little above natural background[1] — enough to suggest that fertilizer, manure, a septic system, or wastewater has reached the source. This is a statement about where the nitrate came from, not about harm.

Sources

  1. Dubrovsky, N.M., and others (2010). Nutrients in the Nation's Streams and Groundwater, 1992–2004. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1350.

The bands describe how strongly human activity, read from nitrate, has marked a water source — they are not a safety verdict. More on what the numbers mean and where nitrate comes from.

NitrateSmart

Nitrate in community water systems, from the utilities’ own compliance reporting.

Results reaching back to July 2023 · current through August 9, 2026.

Data & methods

How this is built
Coverage and gaps

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