Is Penn Valley, CA tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 3 utilities serving Penn Valley has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records: Sierra Estates Mutual Water Company.
Nevada ID - Lake Wildwood, 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 - Lake Wildwood is soft, 15 mg/L (0.9 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 Penn Valley’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Nevada ID - Lake Wildwood
California · serves 9,108 people · about 360 in Penn Valley
Nothing in its records is above a health goal. Hardness: soft, 15 mg/L (0.9 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Sierra Estates Mutual Water Company
California · serves 100 people · under 100 in Penn Valley
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 0.85 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: very hard, 241 mg/L (14.1 grains per gallon).
1 health-based violation since 2016
- Open report
Creekside Village
California · serves 300 people · under 100 in Penn Valley
Nothing in its records is above a health goal. Hardness: very hard, 206 mg/L (12 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Penn Valley
The 3 labs California certifies closest to Penn Valley, 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 8 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Onterris Laboratories, LLC
El Dorado Hills, CA · about 40 miles
Certified for organic chemicals, PFAS
Ceres Analytical Laboratory, Inc.
El Dorado Hills, CA · about 41 miles
Certified for organic chemicals
ZIP codes in Penn Valley
Which ZIP codes are in Penn Valley: 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 Penn Valley
Other towns in Nevada County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Nevada ID - Lake Wildwood’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