Volta Community SD
What EPA’s and California’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.
- Serves
- 366 people
- Connections
- 44
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- Los Banos, CA
- County
- Merced
- Owner
- Local government
- Hardness
- Very hard
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
Nothing in EPA’s and California’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals, plus lead and copper, not everything. 1 health-based violation since 2016.
What was found
Nitrate, chromium (total), fluoride and arsenic: California’s own results, samples taken from Aug. 12, 2020 to May 7, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from April 5, 2017 to April 5, 2017. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.
Below EPA’s limits3
Nitrate
Comes from the source
5.9ppm
Highest sample; found in 7 of 7
2025, one sample: 2.7 ppm
The highest sample, in 2023, was 5.9 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 2.7 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 3.3 ppm, in 2015.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
Chromium (total)
Comes from the source
28ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026 average: 22.5 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 28 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 22.5 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 27 ppb, in 2017.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Chromium (Hexavalent) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Chromium Reduction”
Fluoride
Forms or is added in treatment
0.26ppm
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023, one sample: 0.25 ppm
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.26 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.25 ppm.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Fluoride Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Fluoride”
3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Lead
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Hardness
Very hard, 190 mg/L (11.1 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, 2020 to 2023.
Hardness is calcium and magnesium. EPA sets no limit for it: it shows up as scale on fixtures and in water heaters, and as soap that won’t lather. USGS calls water above 60 mg/L moderately hard, above 120 hard and above 180 very hard.
Violations since 2016
| Contaminant or rule | Type | Period | Measured | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rule Revisions | The required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL Inventory | Oct. 17, 2024 | — | Unaddressed |
| Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 2 monitoring or reporting violations not shown. | ||||
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Nitrate, chromium (total), fluoride and arsenic results here are California’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) comes from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Volta Community SD’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and the contaminants this page does not show.
Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.
What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.
Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 didn’t sample this utility; California’s results run from Aug. 12, 2020 to May 7, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from April 5, 2017 to April 5, 2017.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs California certifies closest to the area Volta Community SD serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Certified Laboratories - Turlock
Turlock, CA · about 29 miles
Certified for bacteria
Microbac Laboratories, Inc. - Turlock
Turlock, CA · about 30 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity
CM Analytical, Inc.
Gilroy, CA · about 40 miles
Certified for bacteria
Sources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, results from Jan. 1, 2020 to July 17, 2026, read Oct. 8, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: California State Water Resources Control Board, ELAP accredited laboratories and their fields of accreditation, read Oct. 17, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Hardness: California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, results from Aug. 12, 2020 to Aug. 14, 2023, read Oct. 10, 2026
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID CA2400201. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Nothing here is above a health goalIn EPA’s and California’s records for this utility. They don’t cover everything, which is why the next step matters.Every contaminant TapBuff tracks
- Get the utility’s own reportVolta Community SD must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show, and has newer results than EPA’s national file for the ones here that come from it.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- 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