City of Bakersfield Water Quality (California) – 2025 Report Results

We read 12 results from City of Bakersfield’s 2025 water quality report. No results over a legal limit; 5 above a health goal or guideline.

Serves about 160,144 people · Water system ID CA1510031 · Read the district’s 2025 report (opens in a new tab)

Open this district in the water lookupCompare with your own test results, see the district map and get matched filters.

Results from the 2025 report

Each number is copied from the district’s report and links to the page it’s printed on. Where the report lists several plants, wells or purchased water, the highest is shown.

Contaminant	Result	Health goal	Legal limit	What it means
Arsenichighest measured · range ND to 8.9 · Groundwater wells · 2025 report, page 13	8.9 ppb	0.004 ppb	10 ppb	Above the health goal2,225x the health goal
Chromium-6average · range ND to 2 · Groundwater wells · 2025 report, page 13	0.83 ppb	0.02 ppb	10 ppb	Above the health goal42x the health goal
Dibromochloropropane (DBCP)highest measured · range ND to 0.06 · printed as 57 ppt · Groundwater wells · 2025 report, page 14	0.06 ppb	0 ppb	0.2 ppb	Above the health goalThe health goal is zero
Gross alpha (radioactivity)highest measured · range ND to 11 · Groundwater wells · 2025 report, page 13	11 pCi/L	0 pCi/L	15 pCi/L	Above the health goalThe health goal is zero
Uraniumaverage · range ND to 11.6 · printed as 1.6 pCi/L · Groundwater wells · 2025 report, page 13	2.38 ppb	0.6 ppb	30 ppb	Above the health goal4x the health goal
Chlorineaverage · range 0.32 to 2.5 · Distribution system · 2025 report, page 14	1.2 ppm	None set	4 ppm	Below the legal limit
Copper90th percentile of 50 homes tested, 0 over the action level · Customer taps (50 sites) · 2025 report, page 13	0.16 ppm	0.3 ppm	1.3 ppm (action level)	Below the health goal
Disinfection byproducts (HAA5)highest running annual average · range ND to 47 · Distribution system · 2025 report, page 14	37 ppb	None set	60 ppb	Below the legal limit
Disinfection byproducts (TTHM)highest running annual average · range ND to 84 · Distribution system · 2025 report, page 14	54 ppb	None set	80 ppb	Below the legal limit
Fluorideaverage · range ND to 0.86 · Groundwater wells · 2025 report, page 13	0.1 ppm	1 ppm	2 ppm	Below the health goal
Lead90th percentile of 50 homes tested, 0 over the action level · Customer taps (50 sites) · 2025 report, page 13	Not detected	0.2 ppb	15 ppb (action level)	Not detected
Nitrate (as N)average · range ND to 3.6 · Groundwater wells · 2025 report, page 13	1.2 ppm	10 ppm	10 ppm	Below the health goal

Utility results describe the whole system, measured where water enters the pipes, not your tap. Your home’s plumbing can add lead or copper.

EPA testing for PFAS and lithium

EPA’s own nationwide testing (UCMR 5) found these in City of Bakersfield’s water between Jul 2024 and May 2026. These are EPA lab results, separate from the district’s report. Anything not listed was not detected.

PFOS8.4 pptFound in 5 of 87 samples · highest resultAbove the federal limit that takes effect in 2029 (4 ppt)
PFHxS4.2 pptFound in 2 of 87 samples · highest resultNo federal limit in force for this one
PFNA4.7 pptFound in 2 of 87 samples · highest resultNo federal limit in force for this one
Lithium14.8 ppbFound in 4 of 87 samples · highest resultAbove EPA’s health reference level of 10 ppb (a guide, not a legal limit)

Source: EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data. The highest single result is shown; one high sample doesn’t mean every glass is that high.

What you can do

Nothing here is an emergency notice: if the district has a violation, it must tell customers directly. If you’d like to lower these at your tap, these are the treatments that remove them, and the catalog shows the models certified for each. Ranking is by certified removal; commissions never change the order.