Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Gold Rock Ranch

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
45 people
Connections
21
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Winterhaven, CA
County
Imperial
Owner
Private
Hardness
Varies by source
The ZIP code it serves

92283

The short answer

3 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2021 to 2023.

Arsenic, uranium, fluoride, nitrate and chromium (total): California’s own results, samples taken from Sept. 24, 2021 to Feb. 2, 2026.

Above the health goal3

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

6.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024, one sample: 3.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 6.2 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 8.0 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 3.8 ppb.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.8 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 7.6 ppb. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

1.5ppb

90th percentile, 2023

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.5 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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

2.1ppm

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024, one sample: 1.6 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.1 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 2.9 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.6 ppm.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.97ppm

Highest sample; found in 6 of 11

2026, one sample: 0.62 ppm

The highest sample, in 2024, was 0.97 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.62 ppm.

What handles it

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

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

8.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

Averaged by year, the highest was 8.6 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

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, Uranium, Lead Reduction

    For: Arsenic, Uranium, 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

Hard to very hard depending on the source, 150 to 280 mg/L (8.8 to 16.4 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, 2023 to 2024.

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

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
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)Nov. 4, 2023—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 24 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, uranium, fluoride, nitrate and chromium (total) results here are California’s own from 2021 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Gold Rock Ranch’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. 24, 2021 to Feb. 2, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Gold Rock Ranch’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 Gold Rock Ranch serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Brawley Analytical, Inc.

    Brawley, CA · about 44 miles

    Certified for bacteria, minerals and other inorganics

    (760) 623-1556

  • Imperial County Public Health Laboratory

    El Centro, CA · about 46 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (442) 265-1427

  • Babcock Laboratories, Inc.

    El Centro, CA · about 47 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (951) 653-3351

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA1300546. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Imperial County

All California utilities

What to do next