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Pasadena Water and Power water quality report, rewritten

Serves
164,344
Connections
38,522
Water source
Surface water bought from another system
Based in
Pasadena, CA
County
Los Angeles
Owner
Local government
The 8 ZIP codes it serves

91001, 91101, 91103, 91104, 91105, 91106, 91107, 91775

PWSID CA19101242026 edition · EPA data

Read this first

  • Lithium (above EPA’s health benchmark) was found in 10 of 14 samples, highest 64.2 ppb. Above EPA’s health reference level of 10 ppb, a screening level rather than an enforceable limit.

No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What was found

Highlighted: above the health goal, or EPA’s health benchmark where there is no goal. Circled: above the legal limit in at least one sample, or the action level. Every scale puts that line at its middle.

64.2ppb

Highest of 14 samples; found in 10

Above EPA’s health reference level of 10 ppb, a screening level rather than an enforceable limit.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from July 24, 2023 to April 8, 2024. Each blue tick is one sample where it was found.

Tested and not found

Below EPA’s minimum reporting level in every sample taken from July 24, 2023 to April 8, 2024. Not found means not measured above that level, which is not the same as zero.

All 30 compounds tested and not found
  • 11Cl-PF3OUdS
  • 4:2 FTS
  • 6:2 FTS
  • 8:2 FTS
  • 9Cl-PF3ONS
  • ADONA
  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • Lead
  • NEtFOSAA
  • NFDHA
  • NMeFOSAA
  • PFBA
  • PFBS
  • PFDA
  • PFDoA
  • PFEESA
  • PFHpA
  • PFHpS
  • PFHxA
  • PFHxS
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • PFOA
  • PFOS
  • PFPeA
  • PFPeS
  • PFTA
  • PFTrDA
  • PFUnA

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.

What this report cannot tell you

  • Levels of everything else. Federal bulk data carries results for PFAS, lithium, lead and copper, and violations for the rest. Nitrate, arsenic, disinfection byproducts and other levels are in Pasadena Water and Power’s own annual report, which it must send you every year.
  • 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.
  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q2; UCMR 5 samples are from July 24, 2023 to April 8, 2024.

What to do next

  1. Read up on Lithium

    What each one does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.

    About Lithium

  2. Get the utility’s own report

    Pasadena Water and Power must send you a water quality report every year. It lists nitrate, arsenic and byproduct levels this page cannot.

    How to read it

  3. Test your own tap for lead

    Your service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.

    Lead in your water: what to do

  4. Decide if you want a filter at all

    A filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.

    NSF/ANSI standards, decoded

Other California utilities

All California utilities

Sources