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Sierra Cedars CSD

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
250 people
Connections
233
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Shaver Lake, CA
County
Fresno
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Varies by source
The ZIP code it serves

93664

The short answer

2 results are above the limit’s level with no violation recorded. The worst: Uranium, above the limit’s level, no violation. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 3.5 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 1994. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Uranium, arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride and chromium (total): California’s own results, samples taken from March 24, 2020 to Feb. 27, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded2

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the limit’s level, no violation

149ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020

Averaged by year, the highest was 149 ppb, in 2020, about 5 times EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb. That is the only year on file. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for uranium 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. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 85.7 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the limit’s level, no violation

13ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025 average: 1.4 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 13 ppb, in 2020, above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 1.4 ppb. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for arsenic 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. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.4 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”

Below EPA’s limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

10ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 10 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

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

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.52ppm

Highest sample; found in 2 of 34

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2025, was 0.52 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its seven samples. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.54 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.044ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.044 ppm, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.11 ppm. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.68ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.68 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 1.5 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • 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

    Claim: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Uranium, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

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

Compare five-year costs

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Hardness

Soft to moderately hard depending on the source, 15 to 110 mg/L (0.9 to 6.4 grains per gallon), across 4 sampling points, 2019 to 2025.

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

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

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Uranium, arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride and chromium (total) results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Sierra Cedars CSD’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 24, 2020 to Feb. 27, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Sierra Cedars CSD’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 Sierra Cedars CSD serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • SGS North America, Inc.

    Clovis, CA · about 30 miles

    Certified for nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS

    (559) 862-2118

  • BSK Associates

    Fresno, CA · about 35 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS, radioactivity

    (559) 497-2888

  • Moore Twining Associates, Inc.

    Fresno, CA · about 40 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity

    (559) 268-7021

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA1010052. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Fresno County

All California utilities

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