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Fern Valley WD

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
900 people
Connections
1,182
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Idyllwild, CA
County
Riverside
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Varies by source
The ZIP code it serves

92549

The short answer

2 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 2007 to 2025.

Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 2.2 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 1995. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Uranium, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and nitrate: California’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 3, 2020 to May 4, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal2

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

20.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 2.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 20.6 ppb, in 2022: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 45.6 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 2.3 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 17.7 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.8ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.8 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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

26.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 26.3 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 53 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 26.4 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

24.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 23.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 24.1 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 50 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 23.8 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 28.8 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.009ppm

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.009 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.11 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its two samples. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.1 ppm, in 2015.

What handles it

3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • 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.”

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 water filters for lead, ranked

Hardness

Soft to moderately hard depending on the source, 14 to 68 mg/L (0.8 to 3.9 grains per gallon), across 12 sampling points, 2019 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 are 2 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Uranium, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and nitrate results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fern Valley WD’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. 3, 2020 to May 4, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Fern Valley WD’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 Fern Valley WD serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Babcock Laboratories, Inc.

    Riverside, CA · about 33 miles

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

    (951) 653-3351

  • BSK Associates - San Bernardino Analytical Laboratory

    San Bernardino, CA · about 36 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (559) 497-2888

  • Clinical Laboratory of San Bernardino, Inc.

    Grand Terrace, CA · about 38 miles

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

    (909) 825-7693

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA3310040. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Riverside County

All California utilities

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