Is Porterville, City of Tap Water Safe? Quality Report

Water source: Ground water
Ownership: Local government
Counties served: Tulare

Compliance record

Formal violations the EPA has on file for this supplier. A health-based violation means a contaminant limit or a required treatment was breached; the rest are monitoring or reporting failures — still violations, but not a measured health risk.

health-based violations

violations on file

still open

Violation	Type	Status	Period
TT	Health-based	Unaddressed	2024-10-17
RPT	Monitoring	Unaddressed	2024-10-17
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2012-01-01 → 2012-12-31
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2012-01-01 → 2012-12-31
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2012-01-01 → 2012-12-31
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2012-01-01 → 2012-12-31

PFAS detected

PFAS are industrial “forever chemicals”. These are the EPA's latest nationwide test results (2023–2025).

Contaminant	Max	Detection rate	Period
PFOS	0.0230 µg/L	13/58	2023
PFBS	0.0091 µg/L	5/58	2023
PFHXS	0.0036 µg/L	4/58	2023
Pfba	0.0058 µg/L	2/58	2023
Pfhpa	0.0065 µg/L	2/58	2023
Pfhxa	0.0085 µg/L	2/58	2023
PFOA	0.0220 µg/L	2/58	2023
Pfpea	0.0093 µg/L	2/58	2023

Other contaminants detected

Each bar shows the measured level as a share of the EPA limit: green is well under, amber is close to it, red is over. For lead and copper the limit applies to exactly the 90th-percentile figure shown, so red there means a real exceedance. For everything else the limit applies to a running annual average while the figure is the 95th percentile of this system's samples — over 100% is worth reading, but is not by itself a violation. Where a single sample came in higher than that percentile, it is noted under the bar. Formal violations are listed separately.

Contaminant	Level vs EPA limit	Detection rate	Source	Period
Nitrate	7721.29 µg/L 77% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L worst single sample: 11209.6 µg/L	950/958	SYR4	2012–2019
Tetrachloroethylene	5.145 µg/L 103% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L worst single sample: 7.4 µg/L	172/269	SYR4	2012–2019
Barium	200 µg/L 10% of the EPA limit 2000 µg/L worst single sample: 230 µg/L	54/70	SYR4	2013–2019
Fluoride	300 µg/L 7.5% of the EPA limit 4000 µg/L	54/70	SYR4	2013–2019
1,1-Dichloroethylene	1.18 µg/L 17% of the EPA limit 7 µg/L worst single sample: 1.5 µg/L	45/135	SYR4	2012–2019
TTHM	7.925 µg/L 9.9% of the EPA limit 80 µg/L worst single sample: 9 µg/L	36/42	SYR4	2013–2019
Dibromochloromethane	2.52 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 3.1 µg/L	35/45	SYR4	2013–2019
Bromodichloromethane	1.71 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 2 µg/L	30/45	SYR4	2013–2019
Bromoform	4 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 5 µg/L	29/45	SYR4	2013–2019
Combined Uranium	8.47214 µg/L 28% of the EPA limit 30 µg/L worst single sample: 9.6701 µg/L	29/29	SYR4	2013–2019
Lead	0.0 mg/L 0% of the EPA limit 0.0150 mg/L	27/27	LCR	2025
1,2-DIBROMO-3-CHLOROPROPANE	0.0310 µg/L 16% of the EPA limit 0.2000 µg/L worst single sample: 0.0500 µg/L	20/101	SYR4	2012–2019
Chloroform	1.01 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 1.1 µg/L	19/45	SYR4	2013–2019
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	2 µg/L 3.3% of the EPA limit 60 µg/L	13/42	SYR4	2013–2019
Dibromoacetic Acid	2 µg/L No EPA limit set	12/42	SYR4	2013–2019
Lithium	11.6 µg/L No EPA limit set	12/58	UCMR-5	2023
Arsenic	2.965 µg/L 30% of the EPA limit 10 µg/L worst single sample: 3 µg/L	8/70	SYR4	2013–2019
Trichloroacetic Acid	1 µg/L No EPA limit set	3/42	SYR4	2013–2019
Copper	690 µg/L 53% of the EPA limit 1300 µg/L	1/70	SYR4	2013–2019
Nitrite	0.8000 µg/L 0.1% of the EPA limit 1000 µg/L	1/71	SYR4	2013–2019
Toluene	0.5000 µg/L 0.1% of the EPA limit 1000 µg/L	1/80	SYR4	2013–2019

72 contaminants tested, none detected

1,1,1-Trichloroethane1,1,2-Trichloroethane1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene1,2-Dichloroethane1,2-Dichloropropane11Cl-PF3OUdS2,4,5-TP2,4-D4:2 Fts6:2 Fts8:2 Fts9Cl-PF3ONSAdonaAntimony, TotalAtrazineBhc-GammaBenzeneBeryllium, TotalChlorobenzeneCadmiumCarbofuranCarbon TetrachlorideChlordaneChromiumDichloromethaneDalaponDichloroacetic AcidDinosebEthylene DibromideEndothallEndrinEthylbenzeneHexachlorobenzeneHfpo-DaHeptachlorHeptachlor EpoxideHexachlorocyclopentadieneLassoLeadMercuryMethoxychlorMonobromoacetic AcidMonochloroacetic AcidNetfosaaNfdhaNmefosaaOxamylPfdaPfdoaPfeesaPfhpsPfmbaPfmpaPFNAPfpesPftaPftrdaPfunaPentachlorophenolPicloramSeleniumSimazineStyreneThallium, TotalToxapheneTrichloroethyleneVinyl ChlorideXylenes, Totalcis-1,2-DichloroethyleneO-DichlorobenzeneP-Dichlorobenzenetrans-1,2-Dichloroethylene

Utility contact

Contact: ALVAREZ, ROBERT C
Phone: 559-782-7580
Email: [email protected]

Frequently asked questions about Porterville, City of

Is Porterville, City of tap water safe to drink?

EPA monitoring detected 29 contaminants in Porterville, City of's water. A detection isn't the same as a violation — most levels are within federal limits. See each level and source above, and the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report for its official compliance status.

What contaminants were detected in Porterville, City of's water?

EPA monitoring detected Nitrate, Tetrachloroethylene, Barium, Fluoride, 1,1-Dichloroethylene, and others. The full list with the level and data source for each is above.

How many people does Porterville, City of serve?

Porterville, City of reports serving 63,487 people in California, per its EPA record.

Has Porterville, City of had any water quality violations?

The EPA has 6 violations on file for Porterville, City of, of which 1 is health-based (a contaminant limit or required treatment was breached) and 2 remain open. The rest are monitoring or reporting failures.

Where does this data come from?

Every figure is official EPA drinking-water monitoring — the Lead & Copper Rule, the UCMR-5 nationwide testing program, and the EPA Six-Year Review — not our own testing. Each number is labelled with its source and period.