Is Colfax, CA tap water safe?
The short answer
None of the 3 utilities serving Colfax has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records.
Placer CWA - Colfax, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 1.8 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from Placer CWA - Colfax is soft, 10 mg/L (0.6 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 Colfax’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Placer CWA - Colfax
California · serves 3,073 people · under 100 in Colfax
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 1.8 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: soft, 10 mg/L (0.6 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Pcwa - Weimar
California · serves 1,689 people · under 100 in Colfax
Nothing in its records is above a health goal. Hardness: soft, 11 mg/L (0.6 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Alpine Meadows Property Owners Asso
California · serves 250 people · under 100 in Colfax
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 0.45 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: soft, typically 27 mg/L (1.5 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 Placer CWA - Colfax’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: 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: 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: Arsenic
Water testing near Colfax
The 3 labs California certifies closest to Colfax, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Cranmer Engineering, Inc.
Grass Valley, CA · about 12 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Onterris Laboratories, LLC
El Dorado Hills, CA · about 34 miles
Certified for organic chemicals, PFAS
Ceres Analytical Laboratory, Inc.
El Dorado Hills, CA · about 34 miles
Certified for organic chemicals
ZIP codes in Colfax
Which ZIP codes are in Colfax: 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 Colfax
Other towns in Placer County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Placer CWA - Colfax’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for ArsenicRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water