Is Lemon Cove, CA tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 2 utilities serving Lemon Cove has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records: Lemon Cove Water Company.
City of Woodlake, which serves the most people here, has 3 results above the health goal. The worst: Nitrate at 12 ppm, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from City of Woodlake is soft to hard depending on the source, 53 to 160 mg/L (3.1 to 9.4 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 Lemon Cove’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
City of Woodlake
California · serves 7,918 people · under 100 in Lemon Cove
3 results above the health goal. The worst: Nitrate at 12 ppm, above the health goal. Hardness: soft to hard depending on the source, 53 to 160 mg/L (3.1 to 9.4 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Lemon Cove Water Company
California · serves 168 people · under 100 in Lemon Cove
1 result above the legal limit and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Nitrate at 20.3 ppm, above the legal limit. Hardness: very hard, 346 mg/L (20.2 grains per gallon).
42 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 City of Woodlake’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: Nitrate, 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: Nitrate, Arsenic
Culligan 10-Cup Pitcher with ZeroWater Technology (ZEROP10)
Pitcher
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Nitrate
Water testing near Lemon Cove
The 3 labs California certifies closest to Lemon Cove, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Fruit Growers Laboratory, Inc.
Visalia, CA · about 20 miles
Certified for bacteria
Sierra Dairy Laboratory
Tulare, CA · about 22 miles
Certified for bacteria
BSK Associates
Fresno, CA · about 42 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS, radioactivity
Which ZIP codes are in Lemon Cove: 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 Lemon Cove
Other towns in Tulare County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read City of Woodlake’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for NitrateRanked 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