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Is Poway, CA tap water safe?

City of Poway serves Poway, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and California’s records show for it, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

City of Poway serves Poway. In EPA’s and California’s records it has 2 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark, and no health-based violation since 2016.

The worst: Lithium at 48.7 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.

The water from City of Poway is very hard, 224 mg/L (13.1 grains per gallon). How California’s water compares.

Some homes in a town are on private wells or a small system of their own. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in City of Poway’s water.

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Poway

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab California certifies.

The 3 labs California certifies closest to Poway, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • EMSL Analytical, Inc.

    San Diego, CA · about 13 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (800) 220-3675

  • Analytical Environmental Lab, LLC

    San Diego, CA · about 13 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, disinfection byproducts

    (619) 871-8505

  • Environmental Laboratory Network, Inc.

    San Diego, CA · about 17 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, radioactivity

    (858) 266-1666

All 145 certified labs for California

ZIP codes in Poway

Which ZIP codes are in Poway: 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 Poway

Other towns in San Diego County with a page of their own.

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