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Ellwood Mutual Water Company

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
186 people
Connections
56
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Santa Barbara, CA
County
Santa Barbara
Owner
Private
Hardness
Very hard
The ZIP code it serves

93117

The short answer

1 result is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the limit’s level, no violation. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), uranium, haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and nitrate: California’s own results, samples taken from Sept. 2, 2020 to March 31, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the limit’s level, no violation

122ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2026

2026, one sample: 45 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 122 ppb, in 2025, above EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 163 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 45 ppb. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Results like these with no violation often include water sampled before treatment or blending; the utility’s annual report says what reaches the tap.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal1

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2024

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.8 ppb, in 2024: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.13 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits2

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

29ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2025

2025, one sample: 19 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 29 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 19 ppb.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.4ppm

Highest yearly average, 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.4 ppm, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.4 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

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

    Claim: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Uranium

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Uranium

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

Hardness

Very hard, typically 603 mg/L (35.2 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, 2019 to 2023.

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

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
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 3 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), uranium, haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and nitrate results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Ellwood Mutual Water Company’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 Sept. 2, 2020 to March 31, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • Clinical Laboratory of San Bernardino II

    Lompoc, CA · about 23 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (805) 737-7300

  • Oilfield Environmental & Compliance Inc. (OEC)

    Santa Maria, CA · about 40 miles

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

    (805) 922-4772

  • Capco Analytical Services

    Ventura, CA · about 51 miles

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

    (805) 644-1095

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA4200693. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Santa Barbara County

All California utilities

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