Is Menlo Park, CA tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 3 utilities serving Menlo Park has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records: O'Connor Tract Co - Operative Water Co..
California Water Service - Bear Gulch, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 4.0 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from California Water Service - Bear Gulch is moderately hard to very hard depending on the source, 65 to 281 mg/L (3.8 to 16.4 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 Menlo Park’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
California Water Service - Bear Gulch
California · serves 60,382 people · about 19,500 in Menlo Park
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 4.0 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: moderately hard to very hard depending on the source, 65 to 281 mg/L (3.8 to 16.4 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Menlo Park Municipal Water
California · serves 22,362 people · about 12,100 in Menlo Park
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 3.1 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: hard, 170 mg/L (9.9 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
O'Connor Tract Co - Operative Water Co.
California · serves 2,789 people · about 650 in Menlo Park
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 2.7 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: very hard, typically 245 mg/L (14.3 grains per gallon).
1 health-based violation since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in California Water Service - Bear Gulch’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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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: Lead, 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: Lead, Arsenic
Water testing near Menlo Park
The 3 labs California certifies closest to Menlo Park, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
San Mateo County Public Health Laboratory
San Mateo, CA · about 9 miles
Certified for bacteria
SGS North America
Hayward, CA · about 13 miles
Certified for bacteria
Eurofins Built Environment Testing West-Burlingame
Burlingame, CA · about 13 miles
Certified for bacteria
ZIP codes in Menlo Park
Which ZIP codes are in Menlo Park: 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 Menlo Park
Other towns in San Mateo County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read California Water Service - Bear Gulch’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for LeadRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for lead, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water