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Is Santa Monica, CA tap water safe?

2 utilities serve Santa Monica, 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

1 of the 2 utilities serving Santa Monica has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and California’s records: Los Angeles - City, Dept. of Water & Power.

Santa Monica - City, Water Division, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 4 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: PFOA at 4.6 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

The water from Santa Monica - City, Water Division is hard to very hard depending on the source, 148 to 760 mg/L (8.7 to 44.4 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 Monica’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 Santa Monica - City, Water Division’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 Monica

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

  • Positive Lab Service

    Los Angeles, CA · about 13 miles

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

    (213) 745-5312

  • EMAX Laboratories, Inc.

    Torrance, CA · about 17 miles

    Certified for nitrate, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts

    (310) 618-8889

  • Pat-Chem Laboratories

    San Fernando, CA · about 19 miles

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

    (800) 400-5227

All 145 certified labs for California

ZIP codes in Santa Monica

Which ZIP codes are in Santa Monica: 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 Monica

Other towns in Los Angeles County with a page of their own.

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