The primary objective of Nevada's drinking water standards is to assure safe water for human consumption.  To this end, the Nevada Department of Human Resources, Health Division, Consumer Health Protection, has established statewide primary and secondary drinking water standards at least as rigorous as those required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Primary standards limit contaminants (constituents) which may affect consumer health.  Secondary standards were developed to deal with the aesthetic qualities of drinking water.

[Effective Date:  October 1993]

Primary Regulations (Standards):

Inorganic Chemicals [see measurement notations below]

Asbestos: 7mf/l

Arsenic: 0.05 mg/l

Barium: 2 mg/l

Cadmium: 0.005 mg/l

Chromium: 0.1 mg/l

Lead: 0.05 mg/l: (proposed)

Mercury: 0.002 mg/l

Nitrate (as N): 10 mg/l

Nitrite (as N): 1 mg/l

Total Nitrate/Nitrite: 10/mg/l

Selenium: 0.05 mg/l

Silver: 0.05 mg/l

Fluoride: 4 mg/l

Total Haldmethanes: 0.1 mg/l

Volatile Organic Chemicals

Trichloroethylene: 0.005 mg/l

Carbon Tetrachloride: 0.005 mg/l

Vinyl Chloride: 0.002 mg/l

Benzene: 0.005 mg/l

1,4-Dichlorobenzene: 0.075 mg/l

1,2-Dichloroethane: 0.005 mg/l

1,1-Dichloroethylene: 0.007 mg/l

1,1,1-Trichloroethane: 0.2 mg/l

1,2-Dichlorobenzene: 0.6 mg/l

as-1,2-Dichloroethylene: 0.07 mg/l

Trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene: 0.1 mg/l

1,2-Dichloropropane: 0.005 mg/l

Ethylbenzene: 0.7 mg/l

Monochlorobenzene: 0.1 mg/l

Styrene: 0.1 mg/l

Tetrachloroethylene: 0.005 mg/l

Toluene: 1 mg/l

Xylenes: 10 mg/l

Pesticides and PCBs

Alachlor (Lasso): 0.002 mg/l

Aldicarb (Temik): 0.003 mg/l

Aldicarb Sulfone: 0.002 mg/l

Aldicarb Sulfoxide: 0.004 mg/l

Atrazine: 0.003 mg/l

Carbofuran (Furan): 0.04 mg/l

Chlorodane: 0.002 mg/l

Dibromochloropropane: 0.0002 mg/l

2,4-D: 0.07 mg/l

Ethylene Dibromide: 0.00005 mg/l

Heptachlor: 0.0004 mg/l

Heptachlor Epoxide: 0.0002 mg/l

Lindane: 0.0002 mg/l

Methoxychlor: 0.04 mg/l

Poly-Chlorinated Biphenyls: 0.0005 mg/l

Penta-Chlorphenol: 0.001 mg/l

Toxaphene: 0.003 mg/l

2,4,5-TP (Silvex): 0.05 mg/l

Radiological

Radium 226: 20 pCi/l: (proposed)

Radium 228: 20 pCi/l: (proposed)

Radon 222: 300 pCi/l: (proposed)

Uranium: 20 ug/l: (proposed)

Adjusted Gross Alpha: 15 pCi/l

Gross Beta and

Photon Emitters: 4 mrem/year

Secondary Regulations (Standards):

Chloride: 250-400 ppm: (1 ppm ? 1 mg/l)

Copper: 1.3 ppm

Fluoride: 2.0 ppm

Iron: 0.3-0.6 ppm

Magnesium: 125-150 ppm

Manganese: 0.05-0.1 ppm

Sulfate: 250-500 ppm

Zinc: 5.0 ppm

Color: 15 color units

MBAS [1]: 0.5 ppm

pH: : 6.5-8.5

TDS: 500-1,000 ppm

Treatment Techniques

Acrylamide: 0.005% dosed at 1 mg/l

Epichlorohyorin: 0.01% dosed at 20 mg/l

MicroBiological Contaminants

Total Coliform: Absent

Fecal Coliform: Absent

E. Coli: Absent

Measurement notations:

mf/l=million fibers per liter

mg/l=milligrams per liter (1 mg/l=1 ppm)

pCi/l=picocurries per liter

µg/l=micrograms per liter

ppm=parts per million (1 ppm=1mg/l)