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Is Durham, CA tap water safe?

6 utilities serve Durham, 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

1 of the 6 utilities serving Durham has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records: Thermalito Water & Sewer Dist.

Cal - Water Service Co. - Chico, which serves the most people here, has 3 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 2 results above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 22.5 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

The water from Cal - Water Service Co. - Chico is moderately hard to very hard depending on the source, 84 to 295 mg/L (4.9 to 17.3 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 Durham’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 Cal - Water Service Co. - Chico’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Durham

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 3 labs California certifies closest to Durham, 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 10 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (530) 343-5818

  • Cranmer Engineering, Inc.

    Grass Valley, CA · about 46 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (530) 273-7284

  • Eurofins Sacramento Service Center

    West Sacramento, CA · about 72 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (626) 386-1221

All 145 certified labs for California

ZIP codes in Durham

Which ZIP codes are in Durham: 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 Durham

Towns nearby with a page of their own.

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