Lake Madrone Water District

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: 297 people
Connections: 5
Water source: Groundwater
Based in: Berry Creek, CA
County: Butte
Owner: Local government
Hardness: Soft

The ZIP code it serves

95916

The short answer

Nothing in EPA’s and California’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals, plus lead and copper, not everything. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What was found

Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 2.8 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 2019. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride and total trihalomethanes (TTHM): California’s own results, samples taken from June 18, 2020 to April 8, 2026.

Below EPA’s limits1

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.5ppm

Highest sample; found in 3 of 12

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2025, was 0.5 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its two samples.

What handles it

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

5 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.

Arsenic
Chromium (total)
Fluoride
Lead
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Hardness

Soft, typically 21 mg/L (1.2 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 1.2 grains per gallon, salt included Softener 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 3 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

Everything else. Nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total), fluoride and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Lake Madrone Water District’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 June 18, 2020 to April 8, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

Fruit Growers Laboratory, Inc.
Chico, CA · about 27 miles
Certified for bacteria
(530) 343-5818
Cranmer Engineering, Inc.
Grass Valley, CA · about 34 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
(530) 273-7284
Onterris Laboratories, LLC
El Dorado Hills, CA · about 72 miles
Certified for organic chemicals, PFAS
(916) 673-1520