International Headquarters & Laboratory

Phone 630 505 0160

WWW.WQA.ORG
A not-for-profit organization

AMMONIA FACT SHEET

Contaminant In Water As Maximum Contaminant Level*

pH dependent:
Ammonia (NH3) NH4+ No US EPA action levels or WHO
NH3 guidelines have been established.

Sources of Contaminant Disinfection with chloramines

Wastes, Fertilizers & Natural processes

Potential Health Effects None proposed for human but toxic for aquatic life

Treatment Methods Ion Exchange with zeolite

Point-of-Entry Sodium alumino silicate zeolites
Point-of-Use Distillation
*Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) - The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to
MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology and taking cost into consideration. MCLs are enforceable standards.

Ammonia is a colorless, pungent gaseous compound of hydrogen and nitrogen that is highly soluble
in water. It is a biologically active compound found in most waters as a normal biological degradation
product of nitrogenous organic matter (protein). It also may find its way to ground and surface waters
through discharge of industrial process wastes containing ammonia and fertilizers. Ammonia has been
used in municipal treatment systems for over 70 years to prolong the effectiveness of disinfection
chlorine added to drinking water. The addition of ammonia enhances the formation of chloramines
(which may create objectionable tastes), and it reduces the formation of chlorination by-products which
may be carcinogenic. Partial adsorption of chloramines (from city supplied water) by GAC may liberate
ammonia. When dissolved in water, ammonia (NH3) reacts to form ammonium (NH4+) and hydroxyl
(OH-) ions. When the pH is above 7.2, some free NH3 remains and this increases with increasing pH.
The equilibrium for these chemical species can be expressed by the following:

NH3 + H2O ↔ NH4OH ↔ NH4+ + OH-

Oxidation of ammonia results in the formation of nitrite and nitrate.

HEALTH EFFECTS

There is no EPA mandated Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for ammonia. However, it has been
known, since early in this century, that ammonia (NH3) is toxic to fish and that the toxicity increases with
 WQA Technical Fact Sheet: Ammonia

increasing pH and temperature of the water. In enclosed circulating aqua cultural systems, ammoniacal
nitrogen produced by the decomposition of excrement and unused food is one of the leading causes of
disease and mortality in fish. In oxygen-poor environments, even a few parts per million of ammoniacal
nitrogen can lead to gill damage, hyperplasia, and a substantial reduction in growth rates. In 2013, EPA
has issued a Final Ammonia Criteria for the toxic effect of ammonia for aquatic life.

TREATMENT METHODS

Residential Ion Exchange with zeolite

Point-of-Entry Sodium alumino silicate zeolites
Point-of-Use
Distillation
Municipal N/A

Ion exchange using synthetically produced zeolite and certain natural zeolites such as clinoptilolite
and chabazite have been found to be effective in controlling the ammoniacal nitrogen content of
hatchery waters (Konikoff, 1973). Levels as high as 20 ppm of ammonia in waste streams have been
successfully treated using flow rates of around 1 gpm per cubic foot of media with a capacity of 28,000
ppm gallons/cu ft. of media. On lower level feeds such as in well water or aquaculture and where low
leakages are needed, capacities will be 12,000 to 15,000 ppm gallons NH4+ per cubic foot of mineral.
Although the natural zeolites are more selective for ammonia than for calcium, magnesium, or sodium,
water composition will impact capacity and performance. Consult the media manufacturers for
recommendations.
Sodium alumino silicate zeolites are regenerated with salt (NaCl) using similar dosage levels and
regeneration designs similar to softeners. Zeolites operate over a wide pH range but will produce lower
leakages when operated near a neutral pH of 6.5 to 8.0.
The use of conventional ion exchange resins for removal of ammonia from feed waters can be
accomplished with normal cation exchange softeners. However, softener resins have a very high
preference for hardness (Ca2+ and Mg2+) ions over the NH4+ ion and can “dump” high levels of ammonia
before breaking on hardness. Successful installations have been in operation using a primary softener
for hardness removal followed by a polisher for the ammonia. The polisher is regenerated in a counter-
flow design and uses a pH depressant (such as citric acid) in the brine to aid in complete regeneration
of the NH4+ from the resin.
Distillation is another process that is effective in the reduction of ammonia in drinking water supplies
and can be used for POU applications. The high temperatures used in the distillation process effectively
volatilize free ammonia to produce an acceptable drinking water, and point-of-use distillation products
are a viable process choice. The still design must be equipped with a volatile vent type separator since
free ammonia will boil off with the water. Other POU devices are ammonia selective cartridge devices
based on zeolite, GAC and/or cation exchange.
 WQA Technical Fact Sheet: Ammonia

The treatment methods listed herein are generally recognized as techniques that can effectively
reduce the listed contaminants sufficiently to meet relevant levels. However, this list does not reflect
the fact that point-of-use/point-of-entry (POU/POE) devices and systems currently on the market may
differ widely in their effectiveness in treating specific contaminants, and performance may vary from
application to application. Therefore, selection of a particular device or system for specific contaminant
reduction should be made only after careful investigation of its’ performance capabilities based on
results from competent equipment validation testing carried out by the manufacturers/dealers for the
specific contaminant to be reduced.
As part of point-of-entry treatment system installation procedures, system performance
characteristics should be verified by tests conducted under established test procedures and water
analysis. Thereafter, the resulting water should be monitored periodically to verify continued
performance. The application of the water treatment equipment must be controlled diligently to ensure
that acceptable feed water conditions and equipment capacity are not exceeded.
Visit WQA.org to locate water professionals in your area. Note that Certified Water Specialists have
passed the water treatment educational program with the Water Quality Association and continue their
education with recertification every 3 years.

REGULATIONS

There are no action levels or MCL set by the US EPA or guideline values from the World Health
Organization at this time. The concentration of ammonia that exists in drinking water has been
determined by the US EPA and WHO not to be of a health risk. WHO does recognize odor effects at a
concentration of 1.5 mg/L and taste effects at 35 mg/L.
In 2013, the US EPA has recommended water quality criteria for aquatic life expressed as Total
Ammonia Nitrogen in mg/L at pH 7 and 200C for acute (1hr) and chronic (30 day) exposure of 17 and
1.9 respectively.

REFERENCES/SOURCES

World Health Organization (2003). Ammonia in Drinking Water. Retrieved from

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/ammonia.pdf.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Toxicological Profiles. Retrieved from
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp126-c8.pdf.

US EPA (October 31, 2013). “Aquatic Life Criteria: Ammonia.” Retrieved from
http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/criteria/aqlife/ammonia.
 The Water Quality Association publishes this Technical
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Application Bulletin as a service to its members and the
interested public. Information contained herein is based upon the
WQA wishes to express sincere appreciation for the unselfish most recent public data known as of the publication date and
contributions of the members of WQA who contributed their cannot take into account relevant data published thereafter. The
time and expertise toward the completion of this bulletin.
Water Quality Association makes no recommendations for the
Arvind Patil, Ph.D., CWS-I Richard Andrew selection of a treatment system, and expressly disclaims any
Gary Hatch, Ph.D. Shannon Murphy responsibility for the results of the use of any treatment method
Charles Michaud, CWS-VI Steve VerStrat
Mark Brotman, CWS-VI Pauli Undesser, M.S., CWS-VI or device to reduce or remove a particular contaminant.
P. Regunathan, Ph.D. Kimberly Redden, CWS-VI
Rebecca Tallon, P.E.

This reference document is published by:

National Headquarters & Laboratory

4151 Naperville Road • Lisle, Illinois 60532
Tel: 630 505 0160 • Fax: 630 505 9637

Copyright © 2013 by Water Quality Association. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electric, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.