Is Chester, CA tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 2 utilities serving Chester has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records: Chester Public U.D..
Chester Public U.D., which serves the most people here, has nothing above a health goal in EPA’s and California’s records. That data covers what its report lists, not everything.
The water from Chester Public U.D. is soft, 50 mg/L (2.9 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 Chester’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Chester Public U.D.
California · serves 2,187 people · about 280 in Chester
Nothing in its records is above a health goal. Hardness: soft, 50 mg/L (2.9 grains per gallon).
1 health-based violation since 2016
- Open report
West Almanor M.W.C.
California · serves 1,464 people · under 100 in Chester
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 0.67 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: moderately hard to hard depending on the source, 93 to 179 mg/L (5.4 to 10.5 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Chester
The 2 labs California certifies closest to Chester, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Fruit Growers Laboratory, Inc.
Chico, CA · about 53 miles
Certified for bacteria
Pace Analytical Services, LLC - Redding
Redding, CA · about 59 miles
Certified for bacteria
ZIP codes in Chester
Which ZIP codes are in Chester: 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 Chester
Other towns in Plumas County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Chester Public U.D.’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water