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Palo Verde County Water Dist.

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
410 people
Connections
134
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Palo Verde, CA
County
Imperial
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

92266

The short answer

1 result is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded, and 3 more are above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the limit’s level, no violation. 3 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2016 to 2021.

Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 4.0 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 2016. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, uranium, fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5), chromium (total) and nitrate: California’s own results, samples taken from Oct. 6, 2020 to Jan. 25, 2026.

Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the limit’s level, no violation

205ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 96 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 205 ppb, in 2025, about 2.6 times EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 270 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 96 ppb, above the limit. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) 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.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal3

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

4.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022

Averaged by year, the highest was 4.8 ppb, in 2022: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file.

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

7.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 7.6 ppb, in 2025: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

3.4ppb

90th percentile, 2019 to 2021

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 3.4 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 limits2

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.42ppm

Highest yearly average, 2022

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.42 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

4.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 4.3 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 22 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

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

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Arsenic, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Uranium, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), 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

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts RuleTreatment was not run by a certified operator as required.EPA: Treatment Technique No Certif. OperatorOct. 21, 2024—Resolved
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Addressed
Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts RuleTreatment was not run by a certified operator as required.EPA: Treatment Technique No Certif. OperatorFeb. 9, 2024—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 8 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, uranium, fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5), chromium (total) and nitrate results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Palo Verde County Water Dist.’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 Oct. 6, 2020 to Jan. 25, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Palo Verde County Water Dist.’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 Palo Verde County Water Dist. 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 53 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (442) 265-1427

  • Babcock Laboratories, Inc.

    El Centro, CA · about 54 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (951) 653-3351

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA1300616. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Imperial County

All California utilities

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