Is Bell Gardens, CA tap water safe?
The short answer
None of the 5 utilities serving Bell Gardens has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records.
Gswc - Bell, Bell Gardens, which serves the most people here, has 1 result 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 15 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
The water from Gswc - Bell, Bell Gardens is very hard, typically 221 mg/L (12.9 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 Bell Gardens’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Gswc - Bell, Bell Gardens
California · serves 55,050 people · about 22,100 in Bell Gardens
1 result 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 15 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. Hardness: very hard, typically 221 mg/L (12.9 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Tract 180 Mutual Water Co.
California · serves 14,000 people · about 6,600 in Bell Gardens
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 2 results above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 24 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. Hardness: very hard, typically 222 mg/L (13 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Bell Gardens
California · serves 11,413 people · about 4,800 in Bell Gardens
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 1 result above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: PFOS at 23 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. Hardness: hard, 140 mg/L (8.2 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Tract 349 Mutual Water Co.
California · serves 8,700 people · about 4,000 in Bell Gardens
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 2 results above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 36.5 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. Hardness: very hard, typically 220 mg/L (12.9 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Maywood Mutual Water Co. #3
California · serves 6,059 people · about 970 in Bell Gardens
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 26.4 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. Hardness: hard to very hard depending on the source, 157 to 277 mg/L (9.2 to 16.2 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 Gswc - Bell, Bell Gardens’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, 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, 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, Arsenic
Water testing near Bell Gardens
The 3 labs California certifies closest to Bell Gardens, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Michelson Laboratories, Inc.
Commerce, CA · about 2 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Los Angeles County Public Health Laboratory
Downey, CA · about 3 miles
Certified for bacteria
Positive Lab Service
Los Angeles, CA · about 6 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
ZIP codes in Bell Gardens
Which ZIP codes are in Bell Gardens: 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 Bell Gardens
Other towns in Los Angeles County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Gswc - Bell, Bell Gardens’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