Is Mission Viejo, CA tap water safe?
The short answer
None of the 3 utilities serving Mission Viejo has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records.
Santa Margarita Water District, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 50.1 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. A health benchmark is a level EPA screens with, not a legal limit.
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 Mission Viejo’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Santa Margarita Water District
California · serves 165,275 people · about 56,200 in Mission Viejo
1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 50.1 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Moulton Niguel Water District
California · serves 168,315 people · about 30,300 in Mission Viejo
1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 43 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
El Toro Water District
California · serves 53,415 people · about 7,400 in Mission Viejo
1 result above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 45 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark.
No health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Mission Viejo
The 3 labs California certifies closest to Mission Viejo, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Sierra Analytical Labs, Inc.
Laguna Hills, CA · about 3 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals
Onterris Laboratories, LLC
Orange, CA · about 18 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
Envirocheck, Inc.
Orange, CA · about 18 miles
Certified for lead and copper
Which ZIP codes are in Mission Viejo: 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 Mission Viejo
Other towns in Orange County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Santa Margarita Water District’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- About LithiumWhat it does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.About Lithium
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water