Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Is Arcata, CA tap water safe?

4 utilities serve Arcata, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and California’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

None of the 4 utilities serving Arcata has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records.

Humboldt Bay MWD, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.6 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.

The water from Humboldt Bay MWD is moderately hard, 77 mg/L (4.5 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 Arcata’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Humboldt Bay MWD’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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

Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Arcata

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab California certifies.

The 2 labs California certifies closest to Arcata, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Microbac Laboratories, Inc. - Arcata

    Arcata, CA · about 5 miles

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

    (707) 822-4649

  • Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory

    Eureka, CA · about 6 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (707) 268-2179

All 145 certified labs for California

ZIP codes in Arcata

Which ZIP codes are in Arcata: 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 Arcata

Towns nearby with a page of their own.

What to do next