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Hidden Canyon Ranch MWC

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
62 people
Connections
40
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Salinas, CA
County
Monterey
Owner
Private
Hardness
Hard
The ZIP code it serves

93907

The short answer

1 result is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded. The worst: Arsenic, above the limit’s level, no violation. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Arsenic, nitrate, chromium (total), fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and uranium: California’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 2, 2020 to May 5, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the limit’s level, no violation

14.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 14.5 ppb, in 2026, above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb. Its highest single sample was 26 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for arsenic 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. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 18 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 limits3

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.5ppm

Highest sample; found in 36 of 37

2026 average: 1.1 ppm

The highest sample, in 2023, was 2.5 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 1.1 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.7 ppm, in 2019.

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

19ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 19 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 38 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 5.0 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.33ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 0.1 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.33 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.38 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.1 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.36 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Lead
  • Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
  • Uranium

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: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claim: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: 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

Hardness

Hard, typically 157 mg/L (9.2 grains per gallon), across 3 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 at 9.2 grains per gallon, 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.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, nitrate, chromium (total), fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and uranium results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Hidden Canyon Ranch MWC’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 May 5, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Hidden Canyon Ranch MWC’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 Hidden Canyon Ranch MWC 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 5 miles

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

    (831) 755-4516

  • Monterey Bay Analytical Services, Inc.

    Monterey, CA · about 15 miles

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

    (831) 375-6227

  • CM Analytical, Inc.

    Gilroy, CA · about 17 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (408) 848-3619

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA2702554. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Monterey County

All California utilities

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