Richgrove Community Services 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
- 1,617 people
- Connections
- 524
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- Richgrove, CA
- County
- Tulare
- Owner
- Local government
- Hardness
- Varies by source
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
2 results are above EPA’s legal limit. The worst: Arsenic, above the legal limit. 11 health-based violations since 2016.
What handles itWhat was found
Arsenic, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5): California’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 24, 2020 to June 16, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Fluoride and chromium (total): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from July 24, 2012 to Sept. 30, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.
Above the legal limit2
Arsenic
Comes from the source
17ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026 average: 6.8 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 17 ppb, in 2022, above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb. Its highest single sample was 24 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its 12 samples averaged 6.8 ppb. EPA recorded a violation for arsenic at this utility in 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 8.0 ppb, in 2019.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
Nitrate
Comes from the source
16.2ppm
Highest sample; found in 67 of 74
2026 average: 1.4 ppm
From 2020 to 2025, at least 25 samples were above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm, the highest 16.2 ppm in 2025. The next sample at the same point, within 30 days, kept the average above the limit for 18; one came back under and six have no follow-up sample on file within 30 days. In 2026, the latest year on file, its 12 samples averaged 1.4 ppm. EPA recorded violations for nitrate at this utility in 2020, 2021 and 2025. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 210 ppm, in 2019, and EPA recorded a violation in 2019.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
Below EPA’s limits2
Fluoride
Forms or is added in treatment
0.25ppm
Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019
2019 average: 0.16 ppm
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.25 ppm, in 2016, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.27 ppm. In 2019, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.16 ppm.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Fluoride Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Fluoride”
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
0.93ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2021
2021: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.93 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 2.8 ppb. In 2021, 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 8.2 ppb, in 2017.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Chromium (total)
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Lead
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, Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)
For: Arsenic, Nitrate
Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)
- NSF/ANSI 58
Claims: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction
For: Arsenic, Nitrate
Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level); Nitrate
At the tap, or for the whole house?
These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. 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
Countertop reverse osmosis
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic, Nitrate
Aquasana SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis (AQ-SFRO2)
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic, Nitrate
Brondell Capella RC250 Reverse Osmosis System
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic
Culligan 10-Cup Pitcher with ZeroWater Technology (ZEROP10)
Pitcher
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Nitrate
Hardness
Soft to moderately hard depending on the source, 45 to 67 mg/L (2.6 to 3.9 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, in 2019.
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.
Violations since 2016
| Contaminant or rule | Type | Period | Measured | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate | A sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single Sample | Oct. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 2025 | 14.3 MG/L | Archived |
| Nitrate | A sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single Sample | July 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2025 | 16.2 MG/L | Archived |
| Nitrate | A sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single Sample | June 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025 | 12.3 MG/L | Archived |
| Lead and Copper Rule Revisions | The required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL Inventory | Oct. 17, 2024 | — | Unaddressed |
| Nitrate | A sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single Sample | Jan. 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021 | 12 MG/L | Archived |
| Arsenic | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Oct. 12, 2020 to Dec. 19, 2022 | 0.018 MG/L | Archived |
| Nitrate | A sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single Sample | July 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2020 | 12 MG/L | Archived |
| Nitrate | A sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single Sample | April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020 | 11 MG/L | Archived |
| Nitrate | A sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single Sample | Jan. 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 | 12 MG/L | Archived |
| Nitrate | A sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single Sample | Oct. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2019 | 13 MG/L | Archived |
| Nitrate | A sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single Sample | July 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2019 | 12 MG/L | Archived |
| Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 52 monitoring or reporting violations not shown. | ||||
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Arsenic, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fluoride and chromium (total) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Richgrove Community Services District’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and 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. 24, 2020 to June 16, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from July 24, 2012 to Sept. 30, 2019.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs California certifies closest to the area Richgrove Community Services District serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
BSK Associates - Bakersfield Analytical Laboratory
Bakersfield, CA · about 28 miles
Certified for bacteria
Pace Analytical Services, LLC dba BC Laboratories, Inc.
Bakersfield, CA · about 28 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity
Zalco Laboratories, Inc.
Bakersfield, CA · about 28 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
Sources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, results from Jan. 1, 2020 to July 17, 2026, read Oct. 8, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: California State Water Resources Control Board, ELAP accredited laboratories and their fields of accreditation, read Oct. 17, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Hardness: California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, results from Sept. 30, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2019, read Oct. 10, 2026
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID CA5410024. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Read up on the 2 results above a lineWhat each one does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.Start with Arsenic
- Get the utility’s own reportRichgrove Community Services District must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show, and has newer results than EPA’s national file for the ones here that come from it.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- Compare certified filtersWhat the filters certified for these results cost over five years, cartridges included.Compare five-year costs