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Big River Development

What EPA’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
3,550 people
Connections
905
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Big River, CA
Owner
Native American
The ZIP code it serves

92242

The short answer

3 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. 3 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2003 to 2022.

Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 1.5 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 1993. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Arsenic, uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and chromium (total): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Aug. 4, 2012 to Aug. 5, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the health goal3

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2013

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.4 ppb, in 2013: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 4.8 ppb. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

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

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.7ppb

90th percentile, 2020 to 2022

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.7 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

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

4.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019

2019, one sample: 3.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 4.9 ppb, in 2015: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2019, the latest year on file, its one sample was 3.3 ppb.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

36ppb

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019

2019, one sample: 13 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 36 ppb, in 2016, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2019, the latest year on file, its one sample was 13 ppb.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.1ppm

Highest sample; found in 10 of 15

2019, one sample: 0.27 ppm

The highest sample, in 2018, was 1.1 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2019, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.27 ppm.

What handles it

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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.32ppm

Highest yearly average, 2013

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.32 ppm, in 2013, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.32 ppm. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019

2019: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.4 ppb, in 2016, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2019, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)

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

    For: Arsenic, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Arsenic, Lead, Uranium

    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

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyMarch 30, 2024—Unaddressed
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyMarch 30, 2024—Unaddressed
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyMarch 30, 2024—Unaddressed
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 27 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Newer results, and everything else. Nitrate, arsenic, fluoride, chromium, uranium and disinfection byproduct results here come from EPA’s national compliance file, which ends in 2019. Big River Development’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results and 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; EPA’s compliance samples are from Aug. 4, 2012 to Aug. 5, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Big River Development’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.

No lab California certifies is within 75 miles of the area Big River Development serves on the state’s list. Some take samples by mail; the state’s page lists them all.

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID 090600226. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Nearby

All California utilities

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