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Rite of Passage/Sierra Ridge

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
65 people
Connections
13
Water source
Surface water
Based in
San Andreas, CA
County
Calaveras
Owner
Private
Hardness
Varies by source
The 2 ZIP codes it serves

95246, 95249

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit. The worst: Lead, above the action level. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2008 to 2026.

Fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and nitrate: California’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 2, 2020 to June 17, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

16ppb

90th percentile, 2024 to 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 16 ppb, above EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027, and this result is at or above that. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits1

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.13ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.13 ppm, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.2 ppm. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.23 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

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

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 water filters for lead, ranked

Hardness

Soft to very hard depending on the source, 21 to 226 mg/L (1.2 to 13.2 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, 2019 to 2026.

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, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?California water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Unaddressed
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 2 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and nitrate results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Rite of Passage/Sierra Ridge’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. 2, 2020 to June 17, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Rite of Passage/Sierra Ridge’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 Rite of Passage/Sierra Ridge serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • 49er Water Laboratory

    Jackson, CA · about 15 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (530) 277-2770

  • Precision Enviro-Tech

    Twain Harte, CA · about 22 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (209) 477-8105

  • Lodi Wine Laboratories

    Lodi, CA · about 37 miles

    Certified for nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (209) 339-1990

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA0500091. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Calaveras County

All California utilities

What to do next