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Cal Am - Goldside

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
1,053 people
Connections
319
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Sacramento, CA
County
Madera
Owner
Private
Hardness
Varies by source
The 2 ZIP codes it serves

93601, 93644

The short answer

3 results are above the health goal. The worst: Uranium, 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 2006 to 2025.

Uranium, arsenic, nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and chromium (total): California’s own results, samples taken from March 9, 2020 to June 8, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal3

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

21.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 21 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 21.5 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 71.5 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 21 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for uranium at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 58.2 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

4.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 2.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 4.7 ppb, in 2022: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 7.0 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 2.3 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.6 ppb, in 2018.

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

6.0ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 6.0 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

Below EPA’s limits4

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

9.3ppm

Highest sample; found in 39 of 58

2026 average: 0.25 ppm

The highest sample, in 2020, was 9.3 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its nine samples averaged 0.25 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 6.0 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

14.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 5.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 14.3 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 5.1 ppb.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.39ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 0.27 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.39 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.49 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 0.27 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.42 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

4.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 4.8 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.5 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
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: Uranium, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Uranium, Arsenic, Lead

    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

Hardness

Moderately hard to very hard depending on the source, 81 to 301 mg/L (4.7 to 17.6 grains per gallon), across 8 sampling points, 2020 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, 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 is 1 monitoring or reporting violation: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Uranium, arsenic, nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and chromium (total) results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Cal Am - Goldside’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 March 9, 2020 to June 8, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Cal Am - Goldside’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 Cal Am - Goldside serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • SGS North America, Inc.

    Clovis, CA · about 37 miles

    Certified for nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS

    (559) 862-2118

  • Dellavalle Laboratory, Inc.

    Fresno, CA · about 44 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, radioactivity

    (559) 233-6129

  • BSK Associates

    Fresno, CA · about 44 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS, radioactivity

    (559) 497-2888

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA2010014. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Madera County

All California utilities

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