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El Camino WC Inc

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
28 people
Connections
21
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Salinas, CA
County
Monterey
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

93908

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Nitrate, above the legal limit. 26 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Nitrate, uranium, arsenic, fluoride and chromium (total): California’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 12, 2020 to June 2, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Above the legal limit

28.7ppm

Highest sample; found in 73 of 73

2026 average: 4.6 ppm

From 2020 to 2026, 17 samples were above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm, the highest 28.7 ppm in 2021. 17 have no follow-up sample on file within 30 days. In 2026, the latest year on file, its nine samples averaged 4.6 ppm. EPA recorded violations for nitrate at this utility in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 56 ppm, in 2017, and EPA recorded violations in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal2

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

14.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2024

2024 average: 13.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 14.9 ppb, in 2022: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2024, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 13.1 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 13.6 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2024

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.1 ppb, in 2024: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.0 ppb, in 2014.

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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.3ppm

Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2024

2024, one sample: 0.3 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.3 ppm, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.3 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.4 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

5.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2024

Averaged by year, the highest was 5.2 ppb, in 2024, 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 14 ppb, in 2014.

What handles it

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

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: Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge), Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction, Uranium, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Uranium, Arsenic

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

At the tap, or for the whole house?

These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. 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

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
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2022 to March 31, 202222 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleOct. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 202121 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJuly 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 202122 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleApril 1, 2021 to June 30, 202122 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2021 to March 31, 202129 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleOct. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 202021 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJuly 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 202021 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleApril 1, 2020 to June 30, 202022 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2020 to March 31, 202021 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleOct. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 201922 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJuly 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 201931 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleApril 1, 2019 to June 30, 201918 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2019 to March 31, 201919 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleOct. 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 201820 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJuly 1, 2018 to Sept. 30, 201820 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleApril 1, 2018 to June 30, 201823 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2018 to March 31, 201819 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleOct. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 201720 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJuly 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 201719 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleApril 1, 2017 to June 30, 201719 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2017 to March 31, 201756 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleOct. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 201626 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJuly 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 201618 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleApril 1, 2016 to June 30, 201620.6 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2016 to March 31, 201621 MG/LResolved
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. Nitrate, uranium, arsenic, fluoride and chromium (total) results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. El Camino WC Inc’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. 12, 2020 to June 2, 2026.

Testing your own tap

El Camino WC Inc’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 El Camino WC Inc serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Monterey County Consolidated Environmental Laboratory

    Salinas, CA · about 4 miles

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

    (831) 755-4516

  • Monterey Bay Analytical Services, Inc.

    Monterey, CA · about 13 miles

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

    (831) 375-6227

  • CM Analytical, Inc.

    Gilroy, CA · about 24 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (408) 848-3619

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA2702409. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Monterey County

All California utilities

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