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Aptos Ridge Mutual Water Co

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
52 people
Connections
16
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Watsonville, CA
County
Santa Cruz
Owner
Private
Hardness
Moderately hard
The ZIP code it serves

95076

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2018 to 2027.

Arsenic, nitrate, chromium (total), fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM): California’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 18, 2021 to Sept. 16, 2025, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal2

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.5ppb

90th percentile, 2019 to 2027

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.5 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2025

2025, one sample: 1.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.2 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.1 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.1 ppb, in 2015.

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 limits2

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

4.9ppm

Highest sample; found in 4 of 4

2025, one sample: 4.3 ppm

The highest sample, in 2021, was 4.9 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 4.3 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 5.5 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

28.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 28.6 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 32 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Fluoride
  • Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
  • Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

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: Lead Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Lead, Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Lead, 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 water filters for lead, ranked

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Hardness

Moderately hard, 91 mg/L (5.3 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, in 2021.

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 5.3 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?California water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 2 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, nitrate, chromium (total), fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) results here are California’s own from 2021 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Aptos Ridge Mutual Water Co’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. 18, 2021 to Sept. 16, 2025.

Testing your own tap

Aptos Ridge Mutual Water Co’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 Aptos Ridge Mutual Water Co serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • CM Analytical, Inc.

    Gilroy, CA · about 12 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (408) 848-3619

  • Bracewell Engineering, Inc.

    Morgan Hill, CA · about 14 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (669) 258-5821

  • Santa Cruz County - Health Services Agency - Environmental Health

    Santa Cruz, CA · about 15 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (831) 454-4624

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA4400684. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Santa Cruz County

All California utilities

What to do next