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Is Santa Maria, CA tap water safe?

8 utilities serve Santa Maria, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and California’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

3 of the 8 utilities serving Santa Maria have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records: Ray Water Company, East Valley Farms Mutual Water Company and Aaa Kindness Care Home.

City of Santa Maria Utilities Department, which serves the most people here, has 3 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Nitrate at 19 ppm, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.

The water from City of Santa Maria Utilities Department is very hard, typically 500 mg/L (29.2 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 Santa Maria’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in City of Santa Maria Utilities Department’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Santa Maria

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 Santa Maria, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Oilfield Environmental & Compliance Inc. (OEC)

    Santa Maria, CA · about 5 miles

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

    (805) 922-4772

  • Clinical Laboratory of San Bernardino II

    Lompoc, CA · about 18 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (805) 737-7300

  • Abalone Coast Analytical, Inc.

    San Luis Obispo, CA · about 28 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (805) 595-1080

All 145 certified labs for California

ZIP codes in Santa Maria

Which ZIP codes are in Santa Maria: 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 Santa Maria

Other towns in Santa Barbara County with a page of their own.

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