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Sierra Co. W.W.D #1 Calpine

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
182 people
Connections
134
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Calpine, CA
County
Sierra
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Soft
The ZIP code it serves

96124

The short answer

1 result is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the limit’s level, no violation. 3 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Arsenic, nitrate, chromium (total), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM): California’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 13, 2020 to July 6, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Uranium and fluoride: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Oct. 10, 2017 to Oct. 8, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the limit’s level, no violation

11.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 10.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 11.4 ppb, in 2020, above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb. Its highest single sample was 32 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its 15 samples averaged 10.1 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 18 ppb, in 2015, and EPA recorded violations in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

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

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2017

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.0 ppb, in 2017: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits2

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.2ppm

Highest sample; found in 1 of 14

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2025, was 1.2 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its two samples. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.11 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

0.23ppm

Highest yearly average, 2018 to 2019

2019: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.23 ppm, in 2018, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2019, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

4 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
  • Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

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

    For: Arsenic, Uranium

    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, 30 mg/L (1.8 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, in 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 at 1.8 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, AverageJuly 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 20160.021 MG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2016 to June 30, 201621.5 UG/LResolved
ArsenicThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2016 to March 31, 20160.02 MG/LResolved
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, chromium (total), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Uranium and fluoride come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Sierra Co. W.W.D #1 Calpine’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. 13, 2020 to July 6, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from Oct. 10, 2017 to Oct. 8, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Sierra Co. W.W.D #1 Calpine’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 Co. W.W.D #1 Calpine serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • SGS Silver State Analytical Lab - Reno

    Reno, NV · about 38 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, radioactivity

    (775) 857-2400

  • Cranmer Engineering, Inc.

    Grass Valley, CA · about 43 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (530) 273-7284

  • Fruit Growers Laboratory, Inc.

    Chico, CA · about 75 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (530) 343-5818

All 145 certified labs for California

Sources

PWSID CA4600019. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Sierra County

All California utilities

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