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Psmcsd - Vierra Estates WS

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
164 people
Connections
47
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Royal Oaks, CA
County
Monterey
Owner
Private
Hardness
Moderately hard
The ZIP code it serves

93907

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the legal limit. 3 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2014 to 2024.

Arsenic, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total): California’s own results, samples taken from March 9, 2020 to May 12, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the legal limit

14.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 7.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 14.8 ppb, in 2024, above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb. Its highest single sample was 38.7 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 7.3 ppb. EPA recorded a violation for arsenic at this utility in 2024. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 4.0 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”

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

8.9ppb

90th percentile, 2022 to 2024

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 8.9 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 limits5

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

8.7ppm

Highest sample; found in 32 of 33

2026 average: 6.0 ppm

The highest sample, in 2020, was 8.7 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 6.0 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 11.8 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

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

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

44ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024, one sample: 22 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 44 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 22 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 32 ppb, in 2018.

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

11ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 11 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 8.0 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.2ppm

Highest yearly average, 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.2 ppm, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.3 ppm. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.25 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

3.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.3 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 6.5 ppb. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 6.0 ppb, in 2014.

What handles it

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, Lead Reduction

    For: Arsenic, 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 102 mg/L (5.9 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, in 2023.

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 5.9 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?California water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 20240.014 MG/LArchived
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 20240.016 MG/LArchived
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2024 to June 30, 20240.013 MG/LArchived
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total) results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Psmcsd - Vierra Estates WS’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 March 9, 2020 to May 12, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Psmcsd - Vierra Estates WS’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 Psmcsd - Vierra Estates WS 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 CA2702007. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Monterey County

All California utilities

What to do next