Is Nevada City, CA tap water safe?
The short answer
3 of the 5 utilities serving Nevada City have 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 Nevada City, Ananda Village and Yulica.
Nevada ID - E. George, Banner Mountain, 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 Nevada ID - E. George, Banner Mountain is soft, typically 13 mg/L (0.7 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 Nevada City’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Nevada ID - E. George, Banner Mountain
California · serves 17,154 people · under 100 in Nevada City
Nothing in its records is above a health goal. Hardness: soft, typically 13 mg/L (0.7 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Nevada City
California · serves 3,148 people · under 100 in Nevada City
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 2.3 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: soft, typically 18 mg/L (1 grain per gallon).
1 health-based violation since 2016
- Open report
Ananda Village
California · serves 226 people · under 100 in Nevada City
Nothing in its records is above a health goal. Hardness: soft to moderately hard depending on the source, 58 to 69 mg/L (3.4 to 4 grains per gallon).
1 health-based violation since 2016
- Open report
Washington Ridge C.C.
California · serves 70 people · under 100 in Nevada City
Nothing in its records is above a health goal. Hardness: soft, typically 36 mg/L (2.1 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Yulica
California · serves 25 people · under 100 in Nevada City
1 result above the limit’s level with no violation recorded and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 24 ppb, above the limit’s level, no violation. Hardness: moderately hard to hard depending on the source, 114 to 170 mg/L (6.7 to 9.9 grains per gallon).
1 health-based violation since 2016
Water testing near Nevada City
The 3 labs California certifies closest to Nevada City, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Cranmer Engineering, Inc.
Grass Valley, CA · about 11 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Onterris Laboratories, LLC
El Dorado Hills, CA · about 50 miles
Certified for organic chemicals, PFAS
Ceres Analytical Laboratory, Inc.
El Dorado Hills, CA · about 50 miles
Certified for organic chemicals
ZIP codes in Nevada City
Which ZIP codes are in Nevada City: 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 Nevada City
Other towns in Nevada County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Nevada ID - E. George, Banner Mountain’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