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Los Angeles, City of - Power Plant #2

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
28 people
Connections
17
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Saugus, CA
County
Los Angeles
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Moderately hard
The ZIP code it serves

91390

The short answer

1 result is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the limit’s level, no violation. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2017 to 2024.

Arsenic, uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, nitrate and chromium (total): California’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 6, 2020 to May 4, 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

10.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 3.2 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 10.8 ppb, in 2022, above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb. Its highest single sample was 27.9 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its 10 samples averaged 3.2 ppb. 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 8.8 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal2

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

12.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 12.2 ppb, in 2023: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 12.5 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 7.1 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

0.77ppb

90th percentile, 2022 to 2024

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.77 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 limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

56.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 42.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 56.9 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 78 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 42.1 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 49.8 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

29.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 22.6 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 29.8 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 38.5 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 22.6 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 28.9 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.9ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025 average: 0.76 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.9 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.91 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.76 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.89 ppm, in 2015.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.14ppm

Highest sample; found in 6 of 16

2025: not found

The highest sample, in 2021, was 0.14 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2025, 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)”
One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)

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

Moderately hard, typically 86 mg/L (5 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, 2019 to 2025.

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 5 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, uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, nitrate and chromium (total) results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Los Angeles, City of - Power Plant #2’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. 6, 2020 to May 4, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Los Angeles, City of - Power Plant #2’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 Los Angeles, City of - Power Plant #2 serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Pat-Chem Laboratories

    San Fernando, CA · about 18 miles

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

    (800) 400-5227

  • EMSL Analytical, Inc. (LA Testing)

    South Pasadena, CA · about 33 miles

    Certified for bacteria, asbestos

    (323) 254-9960

  • Positive Lab Service

    Los Angeles, CA · about 37 miles

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

    (213) 745-5312

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA1900542. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Los Angeles County

All California utilities

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