Is California’s water hard or soft?
Does California have hard water? Yes. California, the Golden State of America, has extremely hard water. The state has 382 cities and a population of nearly 4o million people. The majority of those people are fighting the battle against hard water. Depending on location, the hard water level in California ranges from 4 grains per gallon to 28 grains per gallon. According to the EPA’s water hardness scale, water in California is “Very Hard”. We have collected water hardness data from every major Californian city. Take a look at the table to find out how hard California’s water is.
Water Hardness Data of California
| City | Water Hardness Data | City | Water Hardness Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anaheim | 127 PPM (mg/L) or 7 gpg | Bakersfield | 80 PPM (mg/L) or 5 gpg |
| Burbank | 165 PPM (mg/L) or 9 gpg | Chula Vista | 194 PPM (mg/L) or 11 gpg |
| Corona | 353 PPM (mg/L) or 21 gpg | Coachella | 310 PPM (mg/L) or 18 gpg |
| Fontana | 104 PPM (mg/L) or 6 gpg | Fremont | 158 PPM (mg/L) or 9 gpg |
| Fresno | 123 PPM (mg/L) or 7 gpg | Fullerton | 254 PPM (mg/L) or 15 gpg |
| Garden Grove | 119 PPM (mg/L) or 7 gpg | Glendale | 259 PPM (mg/L) or 15 gpg |
| Huntington Beach | 240 PPM (mg/L) or 14 gpg | Irvine | 152 PPM (mg/L) or 9 gpg |
| Long Beach | 151 PPM (mg/L) or 9 gpg | Los Angeles | 127 PPM (mg/L) or 7 gpg |
| Mecca | 393 PPM (mg/L) or 23 gpg | Menifee | 93 PPM (mg/L) or 5 gpg |
| Mendocino | 101 PPM (mg/L) or 5 gpg | Modesto | 224 PPM (mg/L) or 13 gpg |
| Oakland | 140 PPM (mg/L) or 8 gpg | Oceanside | 168 PPM (mg/L) or 10 gpg |
| Orange | 108 PPM (mg/L) or 6 gpg | Oxnard | 285 PPM (mg/L) or 17 gpg |
| Pasadena | 255 PPM (mg/L) or 15 gpg | Redding | 31 PPM (mg/L) or 2 gpg |
| Riverside | 71 PPM (mg/L) or 4 gpg | Roseville | 191 PPM (mg/L) 11 gpg |
| Sacramento | 150 PPM (mg/L) or 9 gpg | Salinas | 314 PPM (mg/L) or 19 gpg |
| San Clemente | 240 PPM (mg/L) or 14 gpg | San Francisco | 47 PPM (mg/L) or 3 gpg |
| San Jose | 320 PPM (mg/L) or 19 gpg | Santa Barbara | 430 PPM (mg/L) or 25 gpg |
| Santa Maria | 235 PPM (mg/L) or 14 gpg | Santa Monica | 114 PPM (mg/L) or 7 gpg |
| Stockton | 194 PPM (mg/L) or 14 gpg | Sunnyvale | 300 PPM (mg/L) or 17 gpg |
| Temecula | 152 PPM (mg/L) or 9 gpg | Turlock | 115 PPM (mg/L) or 7 gpg |
| Tustin | 256 PPM (mg/L) or 15 gpg | Union City | 89 PPM (mg/L) or 5 gpg |
| Upland | 150 PPM (mg/L) or 9 gpg | Vacaville | 183 PPM (mg/L) or 11 gpg |
| Valencia | 268 PPM (mg/L) or 16 gpg | Vallejo | 129 PPM (mg/L) or 8 gpg |
| Ventura | 472 PPM (mg/L) or 28 gpg | Victorville | 31 PPM (mg/L) or 2 gpg |
| Visalia | 81 PPM (mg/L) or 5 gpg | Vista | 161 PPM (mg/L) or 9 gpg |
| Walnut Creek | 78 PPM (mg/L) or 5 gpg | Watsonville | 281 PPM (mg/L) or 16 gpg |
| West Corvina | 150 PPM (mg/L) or 5 gpg | West Sacramento | 65 PPM (mg/L) or 4 gpg |
| Westminster | 240 PPM (mg/L) or 14 gpg | Whittier | 290 PPM (mg/L) or 17 gpg |
| Woodland | 63 PPM (mg/L) or 4 gpg | Yorba | 240 PPM (mg/L) or 14 gpg |
| Yuba City | 58 PPM (mg/L) or 3 gpg | – | – |
Where does California get its water?
The California Water Resources Control Board is responsible for regulating public water supply and water quality throughout the state. They depend on the surface and groundwater in order to supply water to the Californians. Currently, they have a total of 16,261 water system facilities to provide safe water to Californians. 939 of those water facilities get water from surface water and the rest, 15,322 facilities collect from deep wells.
Surface Water: Water that comes from rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs is referred to as surface water. It contributes to nearly 60% of California’s total water supply. California’s surface water comes from the Sierra Nevada in the form of rain and snow. The Sierra Nevada is a 450 miles long and 40-50 miles wide mountain range located on the eastern edge of California.
In winter, the sierra collects participation at high altitudes in the form of snow. The snowpack basically works like natural reserves that hold half of the total surface water in California. When temperatures rise in late spring, the snowpack melts and fills California’s two longest rivers, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin, with water.
In the rainy season, the Sierra Nevada range also provides freshwater by catching clouds created by the Pacific Ocean. Rainwater from those clouds also covers a portion of surface water.
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Groundwater: Water that is found under the ground in between creaks and layers of sand, soil, and rock is referred to as groundwater. Groundwater is a very important source of water in California.
Because the state gets 40% of its total water supply from groundwater. And, in dry years groundwater collection can be as high as 50%.
There are 515 basins underneath California from which the water board lifts water using gigantic pumps. Many municipal and agricultural communities in California rely solely on groundwater for their water supply needs.
Do you need to use a water softener in California?
Yes. In Californian cities, where the water hardness level is more than 6-7 grains per gallon, you need to use a water softener. Public water systems in California do not treat water for hardness. It’s the individual resident’s duty to soften hard water in order to prevent limescale build-up in water pipes, faucets, washing machines, and water heaters.
What kind of water softener is recommended to fight hard water in California?
There are two kinds of water softeners available on the market. Salt-based Water Softeners and Salt-free Water Softeners (also known as Salt-free Water Conditioners).
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In 2009, California passed a law banning the use of salt-based systems statewide. Because salt-based systems waste tons of water by flushing them every week. They also produce salt-heavy discharges that damage sewer lines and wastewater treatment plants.
Since salt-based systems are banned, you are bound to use water conditioners in California. You can also opt for a water conditioner-cum-water filter combo. They not only soften hard water but also purify and remove bitter taste as well. They cost between 500 and 800 dollars and are available on Amazon.
Note: If you browse on Amazon, you will find electronic water descalers advertised as an alternative to water conditioners. They use electric impulses to neutralize the hard water effect. Although true, electronic water descalers are not nearly as capable as water conditioners.
Whereas a water conditioner’s maximum water softening capacity is up to 30-35 grains per gallon (GPG), an electronic water descaler’s capacity maxes out at 10-12 grains per gallon (GPG). And, they are not designed to work with groundwater. So if the water hardness level in your city is more than 10 grains per gallon, getting to a descaler to fight might not be a good idea.
Water Softener for California
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- High-Performance Filter System - Salt-free conditioner, carbon & KDF filtration engineered to maximize filtration and reduce scale while leaving healthy minerals in your water. This system will NOT reduce Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
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- Well Or City Water - Our Whole House Descaler is engineered to work with both well & city water systems.
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Is California tap water safe to drink?
In general, California tap water is safe to drink. As you well know, there is no universal definition of “safe drinking water”. But in California, “safe drinking water” refers to water that meets all the drinking water standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
But if you want specifics, you should look into the ‘Consumer Confidence Report’ of your water service provider. Water quality can vary from region to region and from supplier to supplier. Without lab testing, it is almost impossible to figure out what contaminants may or not may be present in drinking water. As a Californian, your drinking water comes from either
- Regulated water service
- Private wells or surface water
- Bottled of hauled water
Regulated Water Service: If you get a bill every month from a water service provider, then obviously your drinking water comes from a regulated water system. In the state of California, every water service provider needs to publish a water quality report by law. In that report, you find all the information related to your drinking water. In your water bill, you find the contact number/ official email of your water service provider. Call and ask them to provide the latest report.
Private Well Or Surface Water: If your drinking water comes from a privately owned well, stream, pond, or lake, then it is your responsibility to determine and maintain the standard water quality. Since private wells and ponds are owned by individuals, the state does not govern the quality of those water sources.
In that case, you should test your drinking water from a state-certified lab. If the test result comes positive, your drinking water is safe. If not, then you should get an appropriate water treatment system depending on the impurities you want to remove from the water. You may want to read “A Guide for Private Domestic Well Owners” published by the California Water Board. You will find tons of useful information there.
Bottled or hauled Water: If your drinking water comes from a bottle or a water hauler, then it is safe for drinking. In California, bottled water is treated as a packaged food product. The California Department of Public Health-Food and Drug Burch rigorously tests every water bottling manufacturing plant even before the company can launch its product on the market.
The procedure also applies to water haulers as well. The authority tests every water hauler’s operation before certifying their hauled water is safe for drinking.
How much is the water bill in California?
The cost of water has been on the rise in California. The water resources control board reported that the average cost of drinking water has risen by 35% compared to the drinking water cost of 2012-2017. They estimate it will continue to rise in the near future.
Right now, California is divided into 10 hydrologic regions. Water costs in California vary from region to region. People living in the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Coast, and Southern California pay the most for water. On the other hand, the Central Valley/Agricultural, Foothills, and Mountain/Desert regions have the lowest water bills. Take a look at the table to find out the average monthly water bill per connection in California.
| Hydrologic Region | Average Water Bill Per Month Per Connection | Hydrologic Region | Average Water Bill Per Month Per Connection |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. North Coast | $48 – 208 gallons a day | 6. Central Coast | $76 – 217 gallons a day |
| 2. Sacramento River | $63 – 313 gallons a day | 7. Tulare Lake | $68 – 486 gallons a day |
| 3. North Lahontan | $35 – 287 gallons a day | 8. South Lahontan | $65 – 283 gallons a day |
| 4. San Joaquin River | $50 – 359 gallons a day | 9. South Coast | $73 – 293 gallons a day |
| 5. San Fransisco | $96 – 220 gallons a day | 10. Colorado River | $51 – 323 gallons a day |
High water bills have raised an alarm among Californians. Economically disadvantaged communities are facing a hard time affording drinking water. The water control board of California is well aware of that situation. They are planning a statewide rate assistance program to make it more affordable for residents.
How much water does the Colorado river supply to California?
The Colorado River supplies 4.4 million acre-feet of water to California every year. For your information, 1 acre-foot of water is equal to 326,000 gallons of water. It is enough for 2 families to do all their indoor and outdoor work for a year.
What are the main uses of water in California?
The state of California uses water mainly in 3 sectors. The environment sector 60% of the water, the agriculture sector gets 40% of the water and the urban sector gets the remaining 10% of water.
What percentage of water in California is used for residential?
10% of the total water supply in California is used for residential purposes.
