Is Mountain View, CA tap water safe?
The short answer
None of the 4 utilities serving Mountain View has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records.
City of Mountain View, which serves the most people here, has nothing above a health goal in EPA’s and California’s records. That data covers what its report lists, not everything.
The water from City of Mountain View is very hard, typically 269 mg/L (15.7 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 Mountain View’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
City of Mountain View
California · serves 81,340 people · about 29,100 in Mountain View
Nothing in its records is above a health goal. Hardness: very hard, typically 269 mg/L (15.7 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Cwsc Los Altos Suburban
California · serves 63,559 people · about 10,200 in Mountain View
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.5 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: hard to very hard depending on the source, 146 to 445 mg/L (8.5 to 26 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Nasa Ames Research Center
California · serves 1,200 people · about 250 in Mountain View
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 10.4 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Contra Costa Water District
California · serves 210,500 people · about 160 in Mountain View
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 2.5 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: soft to hard depending on the source, 52 to 132 mg/L (3 to 7.7 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Mountain View
The 3 labs California certifies closest to Mountain View, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
SGS North America
Hayward, CA · about 7 miles
Certified for bacteria
AEMTEK, Inc
Fremont, CA · about 10 miles
Certified for bacteria, minerals and other inorganics
San Mateo County Public Health Laboratory
San Mateo, CA · about 11 miles
Certified for bacteria
Which ZIP codes are in Mountain View: 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 Mountain View
Other towns in Santa Clara County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read City of Mountain View’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water