Is Anaheim, CA tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 4 utilities serving Anaheim has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records: Hynes Estates Mutual Water Co..
City of Anaheim, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 2 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: PFOS at 29 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
The water from City of Anaheim is very hard, typically 318 mg/L (18.6 grains per gallon). How California’s water compares.
A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Anaheim’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
City of Anaheim
California · serves 350,254 people · nearly all in Anaheim
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 2 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: PFOS at 29 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. Hardness: very hard, typically 318 mg/L (18.6 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Golden State WC - West Orange County
California · serves 114,693 people · about 4,600 in Anaheim
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 3 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: PFOS at 16 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. Hardness: soft to very hard depending on the source, 57 to 360 mg/L (3.3 to 21.1 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Hynes Estates Mutual Water Co.
California · serves 168 people · under 100 in Anaheim
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Uranium at 30 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: very hard, typically 418 mg/L (24.5 grains per gallon).
1 health-based violation since 2016
- Open report
Golden State WC - Placentia/Yorba Linda
California · serves 50,804 people · based in Anaheim
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 3 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: PFOS at 6.5 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. Hardness: moderately hard to very hard depending on the source, 100 to 324 mg/L (5.8 to 18.9 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in City of Anaheim’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Countertop reverse osmosis
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, PFOA, Arsenic
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: PFOS, PFOA, Arsenic
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: PFOS, PFOA, Arsenic
Water testing near Anaheim
The 3 labs California certifies closest to Anaheim, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Onterris Laboratories, LLC - Anaheim
Anaheim, CA · about 2 miles
Certified for organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
Onterris Laboratories, LLC
Orange, CA · about 3 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
Envirocheck, Inc.
Orange, CA · about 3 miles
Certified for lead and copper
Which ZIP codes are in Anaheim: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: California State Water Resources Control Board, ELAP accredited laboratories and their fields of accreditation; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Anaheim
Other towns in Orange County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read City of Anaheim’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for PFOSRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for PFAS, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water