Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

City of Montague

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
1,264 people
Connections
536
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Montague, CA
County
Siskiyou
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

96064

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. 2 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2004 to 2025.

Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total) and nitrate: California’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 2, 2020 to June 4, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

7.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020

Averaged by year, the highest was 7.6 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. 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

1.6ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.6 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 limits3

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

72.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 72.5 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 120 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. EPA recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 165 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

51.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 23.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 51.3 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 83 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 23.5 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 72.2 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.24ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 0.13 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.24 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.13 ppm.

What handles it

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

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

    For: 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

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Unaddressed
Revised Total Coliform RuleColiform results required a check of the system, and the check or its fixes were not done on time.EPA: Treatment Technique, Level 1 Assessment (RTCR)June 1, 2019—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 1 monitoring or reporting violation not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total) and nitrate results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. City of Montague’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 Jan. 2, 2020 to June 4, 2026.

Testing your own tap

City of Montague’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 lab California certifies closest to the area City of Montague serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Spring Street Analytical

    Klamath Falls, OR · about 45 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (541) 882-6286

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA4710007. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Siskiyou County

All California utilities

What to do next