Table of Contents
Can You Drink Tap Water in Palo Alto?
Yes, Palo Alto's tap water is generally considered safe to drink as Palo Alto 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, Palo Alto's water utility, City of Palo Alto, 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 Palo Alto was resolved on March 31, 2015. This assessment is based on the City of Palo Alto 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.
Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto for Palo Alto in California. For more details please see the "What do these Violations Mean?" section below.
From March 1, 2015 to March 31, 2015, Palo Alto 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.
From May 1, 2012 to May 31, 2012, Palo Alto had 1 health-based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, more specifically, the violation code was Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) which falls into the Microbials rule code group, and the Total Coliform Rules rule code family for the following contaminant code: Coliform (TCR).
Is there Lead in Palo Alto Water?
Based on the EPA’s ECHO Database, 90% of the samples taken from the Palo Alto water system, City of Palo Alto, between sample start date and sample end date, were at or below, 0.0 mg/L of lead in Palo Alto water. This is 0% of the 0.015 mg/L action level. This means 10% of the samples taken from Palo Alto contained more lead.
While Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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.
Palo Alto 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) |
| 05/01/2012 - 05/31/2012 | Resolved | Yes | Maximum Contaminant Level Violation (MCL) | Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) (22) | Total Coliform Rule (110) | Coliform (TCR) (3100) | Microbials (100) | Total Coliform Rules (110) |
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.
Palo Alto Water - Frequently Asked Questions
| By Phone: | 650-566-4506 |
| By Email: | tomm.marshall@cityofpaloalto.org |
| By Mail: | P.O. Box 10250 3201 EAST BAYSHORE RD PALO ALTO, CA, 94303 |
Existing customers can login to their City of Palo Alto account to pay their Palo Alto water bill by clicking here.
If you want to pay your City of Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto means you will often need to put the water in your name with City of Palo Alto. 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 Palo Alto means you will likely need to take your name off of the water bill with City of Palo Alto. 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
$2.17 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 Palo Alto, measured on a scale from 0% (lowest) to 100% (highest).
Related FAQS
Contaminants
City of Palo Alto
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: 62000
- Data available: 2012-2017
- Data Source: Purchased surface water
- Total: 14
Contaminants That Exceed Guidelines
- Bromodichloromethane
- Chloroform
- Chromium (hexavalent)
- Dichloroacetic acid
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs)
- Trichloroacetic acid
Other Detected Contaminants
- Chlorate
- Chromium (total)
- Dibromochloromethane
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Monobromoacetic acid
- Monochloroacetic acid
- Strontium
- 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
Do you live in Palo Alto, CA, and think that your tap water is pure? Well, not all tap water is created equal. For years, bottled water companies have been telling us that their stuff is the purest that there is, but have they done the same for their source water? Not until now.
We are all familiar with the stories about big health companies putting chemicals into their water to cause massive health problems. It turns out that these big companies also put synthetic chemicals into their source water. It seems that these companies either do not care about our health or want to make more money, but are we any better off?
If you want clean drinking water, you should look for a company that grows all of its vegetables or buys its water from a local source that will deliver quality water. Then you should take action and help to eliminate your carbon footprint. If you want to find out more about this type of home, or any home for that matter, please visit my website. You will be able to find out how you can save money on your monthly or yearly household utility bills by building your solar panel and renewable energy system.