Is Montecito, CA tap water safe?
The short answer
Neither of the 2 utilities serving Montecito has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records.
Montecito Water Dist, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 56 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from Montecito Water Dist is very hard, typically 365 mg/L (21.3 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 Montecito’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Montecito Water Dist
California · serves 12,010 people · about 3,100 in Montecito
1 result above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 56 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Hardness: very hard, typically 365 mg/L (21.3 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Santa Barbara Water Department
California · serves 93,334 people · about 500 in Montecito
3 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 42.5 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Hardness: soft to very hard depending on the source, 54 to 420 mg/L (3.2 to 24.6 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Montecito
The 3 labs California certifies closest to Montecito, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Capco Analytical Services
Ventura, CA · about 26 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Ventura County Public Health Laboratory
Oxnard, CA · about 31 miles
Certified for bacteria
Fruit Growers Laboratory, Inc.
Santa Paula, CA · about 31 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity
ZIP codes in Montecito
Which ZIP codes are in Montecito: 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 Montecito
Other towns in Santa Barbara County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Montecito Water Dist’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