Is Sunnyvale, CA tap water safe?
The short answer
Neither of the 2 utilities serving Sunnyvale has 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 Sunnyvale, 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 City of Sunnyvale is very hard, typically 280 mg/L (16.4 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 Sunnyvale’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
City of Sunnyvale
California · serves 157,566 people · about 66,200 in Sunnyvale
Nothing in its records is above a health goal. Hardness: very hard, typically 280 mg/L (16.4 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Cwsc Los Altos Suburban
California · serves 63,559 people · about 20,600 in Sunnyvale
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.5 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: hard to very hard depending on the source, 146 to 445 mg/L (8.5 to 26 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Sunnyvale
The 3 labs California certifies closest to Sunnyvale, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Torrent Laboratory, Inc
Milpitas, CA · about 8 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS
AEMTEK, Inc
Fremont, CA · about 9 miles
Certified for bacteria, minerals and other inorganics
San Mateo County Public Health Laboratory
San Mateo, CA · about 18 miles
Certified for bacteria
Which ZIP codes are in Sunnyvale: 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 Sunnyvale
Other towns in Santa Clara County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read City of Sunnyvale’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