Is Jamestown, CA tap water safe?
The short answer
2 of the 5 utilities serving Jamestown have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records: Cdcr - Sierra Conservation Center and Cal Fire Baseline Conservation Camp.
Tud - Sonora/Jamestown Water System, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 4.5 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from Tud - Sonora/Jamestown Water System is soft to very hard depending on the source, 14 to 220 mg/L (0.8 to 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 Jamestown’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Tud - Sonora/Jamestown Water System
California · serves 11,113 people · under 100 in Jamestown
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 4.5 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: soft to very hard depending on the source, 14 to 220 mg/L (0.8 to 12.9 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Cdcr - Sierra Conservation Center
California · serves 3,571 people · under 100 in Jamestown
Nothing in its records is above a health goal. Hardness: soft, 23 mg/L (1.4 grains per gallon).
4 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Rawhide Mutual Water Company
California · serves 269 people · under 100 in Jamestown
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 1.9 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: very hard, typically 237 mg/L (13.8 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Cal Fire Baseline Conservation Camp
California · serves 150 people · under 100 in Jamestown
1 result above the legal limit and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5) at 97.8 ppb, above the legal limit. Hardness: soft, 23 mg/L (1.4 grains per gallon).
6 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Sierra Twain Harte MHP
California · serves 129 people · based in Jamestown
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Uranium at 1.5 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: moderately hard, 111 mg/L (6.5 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 Tud - Sonora/Jamestown Water System’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 Jamestown
The 3 labs California certifies closest to Jamestown, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Precision Enviro-Tech
Twain Harte, CA · about 13 miles
Certified for bacteria
Aemtek, Inc.
Modesto, CA · about 35 miles
Certified for bacteria
49er Water Laboratory
Jackson, CA · about 36 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics
Which ZIP codes are in Jamestown: 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 Jamestown
Other towns in Tuolumne County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Tud - Sonora/Jamestown Water System’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