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Alpaugh Community Services District

What EPA’s and California’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
871 people
Connections
366
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Alpaugh, CA
County
Tulare
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Soft
The ZIP code it serves

93201

The short answer

2 results are above EPA’s legal limit. The worst: Copper, above the action level. 17 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2022.

Arsenic, fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), chromium (total), nitrate and uranium: California’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 5, 2020 to July 17, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit2

Copper

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

1.6ppm

90th percentile, 2022

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.6 ppm, above EPA’s action level of 1.3 ppm.

What handles it

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the legal limit

9.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 9.8 ppb, in 2026: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 31 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded violations for arsenic at this utility in 2020 and 2021. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 22.8 ppb, in 2013, and EPA recorded violations in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Below EPA’s limits3

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.92ppm

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2026

2026, one sample: 0.78 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.92 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.78 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.95 ppm, in 2018.

What handles it

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

9.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025, one sample: 6.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 9.2 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 6.5 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 11 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

2.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025, one sample: 1.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.3 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.8 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.5 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
4 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)
  • Lead
  • Nitrate
  • Uranium

What handles it

A certification covers specific claims, not a whole standard. Look for these claims on the certifier’s listing, not the box. Wording varies a little: NSF writes “Lead Reduction,” WQA just “Lead.”

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Claims: Copper Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Copper, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Copper Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Copper, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. How whole-house systems compare.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Compare five-year costs

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Hardness

Soft, typically 33 mg/L (1.9 grains per gallon), across 3 sampling points, 2019 to 2026.

Hardness is calcium and magnesium. EPA sets no limit for it: it shows up as scale on fixtures and in water heaters, and as soap that won’t lather. USGS calls water above 60 mg/L moderately hard, above 120 hard and above 180 very hard.

Softeners compared at 1.9 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?California water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2021 to March 31, 20210.014 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 20200.018 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 20200.018 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2020 to June 30, 20200.014 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2020 to March 31, 20200.015 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 20190.013 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 20190.011 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 20180.011 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2018 to Sept. 30, 20180.013 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2018 to June 30, 20180.015 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2018 to March 31, 20180.016 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 20170.015 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 20170.014 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2017 to June 30, 20170.015 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2017 to March 31, 20170.015 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 20160.013 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 20160.012 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 3 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), chromium (total), nitrate and uranium results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Alpaugh Community Services District’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has the contaminants this page does not show.

  • Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.

  • What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.

  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 didn’t sample this utility; California’s results run from Feb. 5, 2020 to July 17, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Alpaugh Community Services District’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab California certifies.

The 3 labs California certifies closest to the area Alpaugh Community Services District serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Sierra Dairy Laboratory

    Tulare, CA · about 26 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (559) 686-2070

  • Fruit Growers Laboratory, Inc.

    Visalia, CA · about 34 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (559) 734-9473

  • BSK Associates - Bakersfield Analytical Laboratory

    Bakersfield, CA · about 37 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (661) 327-0671

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA5410050. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Tulare County

All California utilities

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