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Is Goleta, CA tap water safe?

5 utilities serve Goleta, 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

2 of the 5 utilities serving Goleta have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records: Ellwood Mutual Water Company and El Capitan Mutual Water Company.

Goleta Water District, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 53.5 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.

The water from Goleta Water District is very hard, typically 485 mg/L (28.4 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 Goleta’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 Goleta Water District’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 Goleta

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 Goleta, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Clinical Laboratory of San Bernardino II

    Lompoc, CA · about 31 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (805) 737-7300

  • Capco Analytical Services

    Ventura, CA · about 43 miles

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

    (805) 644-1095

  • Oilfield Environmental & Compliance Inc. (OEC)

    Santa Maria, CA · about 45 miles

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

    (805) 922-4772

All 145 certified labs for California

ZIP codes in Goleta

Which ZIP codes are in Goleta: 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 Goleta

Other towns in Santa Barbara County with a page of their own.

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