Table of Contents
Can You Drink Tap Water in Mountain View?
Yes, Mountain View's tap water is generally considered safe to drink as Mountain View has no active health based violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) that we are aware of. Other factors such as lead piping in a home, or low levels of pollutants on immunocompromised individuals, should also be considered, however. To find more recent info we might have, you can check out our boil water notice page or the city's water provider website.
According the EPA’s ECHO database, from April 30, 2019 to June 30, 2022, Mountain View's water utility, City of Mountain View, had 0 violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. For more details on the violations, please see our violation history section below. The last violation for Mountain View was resolved on March 31, 2015. This assessment is based on the City of Mountain View water system, other water systems in the city may have different results.
While tap water that meets the EPA health guidelines generally won’t make you sick to your stomach, it can still contain regulated and unregulated contaminants present in trace amounts that could potentially cause health issues over the long-run. These trace contaminants may also impact immunocompromised and vulnerable individuals.
The EPA is reviewing if it’s current regulations around pollutant levels in tap water are strict enough, and the health dangers posed by unregulated pollutants, like PFAS.
Water Quality Report for Mountain View Tap Water
The most recent publicly available numbers for measured contaminant levels in Mountain View tap water are in its 2020 Water Quality Report. As you can see, there are levels which the EPA considers to be acceptable, but being below the maximum allowable level doesn’t necessarily mean the water is healthy.
Lead in tap water, for example, is currently allowed at up to 15ppb by the EPA, but it has set the ideal goal for lead at zero. This highlights how meeting EPA standards doesn’t necessarily mean local tap water is healthy.
EPA regulations continue to change as it evaluates the long term impacts of chemicals and updates drinking water acceptable levels. The rules around arsenic, as well as, lead and copper are currently being re-evaluated.
There are also a number of "emerging" contaminants that are not currently. For example, PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), for which the EPA has issued a health advisory. PFAS are called "forever chemicals" since they tend not to break down in the environment or the human body and can accumulate over time.
We recommend looking at the contaminants present in Mountain View's water quality reports, or getting your home's tap water tested to see if you should be filtering your water.
Mountain View Tap Water Safe Drinking Water Act Violation History - Prior 10 Years
Below is a ten year history of violations for the water system named City of Mountain View for Mountain View in California. For more details please see the "What do these Violations Mean?" section below.
From March 1, 2015 to March 31, 2015, Mountain View had 1 health-based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Treatment Technique Violation, more specifically, the violation code was Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR) which falls into the Microbials rule code group, and the Surface Water Treatment Rules rule code family for the following contaminant code: Surface Water Treatment Rule.
For the compliance period beginning July 1, 2013, Mountain View had 1 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Monitoring and Reporting, more specifically, the violation code was Monitoring, Source Water (GWR) which falls into the Microbials rule code group, and the Groundwater Rule rule code family for the following contaminant code: E. COLI.
Is there Lead in Mountain View Water?
Based on the EPA’s ECHO Database, 90% of the samples taken from the Mountain View water system, City of Mountain View, between sample start date and sample end date, were at or below, 0.0 mg/L of lead in Mountain View water. This is 0% of the 0.015 mg/L action level. This means 10% of the samples taken from Mountain View contained more lead.
While Mountain View water testing may have found 0.0 mg/L of lead in its water, that does not mean your water source has the same amount. The amount of lead in water in a city can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood, or even building to building. Many buildings, particularly older ones, have lead pipes or service lines which can be a source of contamination. To find out if your home has lead, we recommend getting you water tested.
No amount of lead in water is healthy, only less dangerous. As lead accumulates in our bodies over time, even exposure to relatively small amounts can have negative health effects. For more information, please check out our Lead FAQ page.
Are there PFAS in Mountain View Tap Water?
Currently, testing tap water for PFAS isn’t mandated on a national level. We do have a list of military bases where there have been suspected or confirmed leaks. There appears to be at least one military base - Moffett Field/Moffett Field NAS - near Mountain View with suspected leaks.
With many potential sources of PFAS in tap water across the US, the best information we currently have about which cities have PFAS in their water is this ewg map, which you can check to see if Mountain View has been evaluated for yet.
Our stance is better safe than sorry, and that it makes sense to try to purify the tap water just in case.
Mountain View SDWA Violation History Table - Prior 10 Years
| Compliance Period | Status | Health-Based? | Category Code | Code | Rule Code | Contaminant Code | Rule Group Code | Rule Family Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/01/2015 - 03/31/2015 | Resolved | Yes | Treatment Technique Violation (TT) | Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR) (41) | Surface Water Treatment Rule (121) | Surface Water Treatment Rule (0200) | Microbials (100) | Surface Water Treatment Rules (120) |
| 07/01/2013 - | Resolved | No | Monitoring and Reporting (MR) | Monitoring, Source Water (GWR) (34) | Ground Water Rule (140) | E. COLI (3014) | Microbials (100) | Groundwater Rule (140) |
What do these Violations Mean?
Safe Drinking Water Act Violations categories split into two groups, health based, and non-health based. Generally, health based violations are more serious, though non-health based violations can also be cause for concern.
Health Based Violations
- Maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) - maximum allowed contaminant level was exceeded.
- Maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs) - maximum allowed disinfectant level was exceeded.
- Other violations (Other) - the exact required process to reduce the amounts of contaminants in drinking water was not followed.
Non-Health Based Violations
- Monitoring and reporting violations (MR, MON) - failure to conduct the required regular monitoring of drinking water quality, and/or to submit monitoring results on time.
- Public notice violations (Other) - failure to immediately alert consumers if there is a serious problem with their drinking water that may pose a risk to public health.
- Other violations (Other) - miscellaneous violations, such as failure to issue annual consumer confidence reports or maintain required records.
SDWA Table Key
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Compliance Period | Dates of the compliance period. |
| Status |
Current status of the violation.
|
| Health-Based? | Whether the violation is health based. |
| Category Code |
The category of violation that is reported.
|
| Code | A full description of violation codes can be accessed in the SDWA_REF_CODE_VALUES (CSV) table. |
| Contaminant Code | A code value that represents a contaminant for which a public water system has incurred a violation of a primary drinking water regulation. |
| Rule Code |
Code for a National Drinking Water rule.
|
| Rule Group Code |
Code that uniquely identifies a rule group.
|
| Rule Family Code |
Code for rule family.
|
For more clarification please visit the EPA's data dictionary.
Mountain View Water - Frequently Asked Questions
| By Phone: | 650-903-6140 |
| By Email: | lisa.au@mountainview.gov |
| By Mail: | 231 North Whisman Road MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, 94043 |
Existing customers can login to their City of Mountain View account to pay their Mountain View water bill by clicking here.
If you want to pay your City of Mountain View bill online and haven't made an account yet, you can create an account online. Please click here to create your account to pay your Mountain View water bill.
If you don't want to make an account, or can't remember your account, you can make a one-time payment towards your Mountain View water bill without creating an account using a one time payment portal with your account number and credit or debit card. Click here to make a one time payment.
Moving to a new house or apartment in Mountain View means you will often need to put the water in your name with City of Mountain View. In order to put the water in your name, please click the link to the start service form below. Start service requests for water bills typically take two business days.
Leaving your house or apartment in Mountain View means you will likely need to take your name off of the water bill with City of Mountain View. In order to take your name off the water bill, please click the link to the stop service form below. Stop service for water bills requests typically take two business days.
The estimated price of bottled water
$3.17 in USD (1.5-liter)
USER SUBMITTED RATINGS
- Drinking Water Pollution and Inaccessibility
- Water Pollution
- Drinking Water Quality and Accessibility
- Water Quality
The above data is comprised of subjective, user submitted opinions about the water quality and pollution in Mountain View, measured on a scale from 0% (lowest) to 100% (highest).
Related FAQS
Contaminants
City of Mountain View
EWG's drinking water quality report shows results of tests conducted by the water utility and provided to the Environmental Working Group by the California State Water Resources Control Board, as well as information from the U.S. EPA Enforcement and Compliance History database (ECHO). For the latest quarter assessed by the U.S. EPA (January 2019 - March 2019), tap water provided by this water utility was in compliance with federal health-based drinking water standards.
Utility details
- Serves: 76000
- Data available: 2012-2017
- Data Source: Purchased surface water
- Total: 23
Contaminants That Exceed Guidelines
- Bromodichloromethane
- Bromoform
- Chloroform
- Chromium (hexavalent)
- Dibromochloromethane
- Dichloroacetic acid
- Nitrate
- Nitrate and nitrite
- Radium%2C combined (-226 & -228)
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs)
- Trichloroacetic acid
Other Detected Contaminants
- Barium
- Chlorate
- Chlorodifluoromethane
- Dibromoacetic acid
- Fluoride
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Molybdenum
- Monobromoacetic acid
- Monochloroacetic acid
- Strontium
- Tritium
- Vanadium
Reminder
Always take extra precautions, the water may be safe to drink when it leaves the sewage treatment plant but it may pick up pollutants during its way to your tap. We advise that you ask locals or hotel staff about the water quality. Also, note that different cities have different water mineral contents.
Sources and Resources
Sources Cited
Additional Resources
The City of Mountain View is bound to give its customers a safe and reliable supply of high-quality drinking water. The City of Mountain View examines over 2,000 water samples each year to continuously watch water quality. It summarizes water quality sampling results and other Mountain View water system data in its yearly Consumer Confidence Report. This includes water quality data from January to December 2020 that follows Federal Safe Drinking Water Act and State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) conditions. In 2020, Mountain View’s drinking water met all Federal and State standards.
The City of Mountain View supplies approximately 8.9 million gallons per day of drinking water to nearly 18,000 metered customers using reservoirs, pump stations, wells, and around 180 miles of pipeline. Te City obtains water from several sources to provide operational flexibility and reliability during system maintenance, changing water supply conditions, and disasters. Mountain View’s drinking water sources and treatments are described below.
Source of Water in Mountain View
The City buys about 87 percent of its drinking water from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) Regional Water System. Most of the SFPUC’s water comes from Sierra Nevada snowmelt that moves into the Tuolumne River and is saved in the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. Other sources of SFPUC water include rainwater runoff collected in watersheds in Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties.
Before reaching Mountain View, water from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is treated using ultraviolet light and chlorine disinfection, pH adjustment for optimum corrosion control, fluoridation for dental health protection, and chlorine for maintaining disinfectant residual and minimizing the formation of regulated disinfection byproducts. Water captured from local watersheds is treated using filtration, disinfection, fluoridation, pH adjustment, and taste and odor removal processes.
Valley Water
Approximately 11 percent of the City’s potable water supply is purchased from the Santa Clara Valley Water District, now known as Valley Water. Surface water is imported mainly from the South Bay Aqueduct, Dyer Reservoir, Lake Del Valle, and San Luis Reservoir, which all draw water from the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta watershed. Valley Water’s local water sources include Anderson and Calero Reservoirs. However, Anderson Reservoir is currently offline for dam rehabilitation. Valley Water’s three water treatment plants provide multiple barriers for the physical removal of contaminants and disinfection of pathogens. Mountain View receives water from the Rinconada Treatment Plant in Los Gatos.
City Wells
Two percent of the potable water supply comes from groundwater wells owned and operated by the City. Groundwater beneath Mountain View is present in two aquifers within the Santa Clara groundwater subbasin. City wells are drilled deep into the lower aquifer, where the clay formations and geology help protect the City’s groundwater supply from contamination. Groundwater is blended with SFPUC water for distribution to City water customers. Te City’s wells also serve as a backup water supply during emergencies. Staf regularly tests water produced by City wells and conducts assessments to ensure the safety of the groundwater supply.