Drinking water quality · 2023
· Verified
· PWSID CA1910108
What's in City of Bell Gardens — Downey, Ca, CA tap water
2 contaminants in City of Bell Gardens — Downey, Ca, CA's water sat at or above a federal limit, led by PFOS at 6.2x the limit.
- !2 contaminants at or above a federal limit — worst is PFOS at 6.2x
- !15 of 27 core regulated contaminants reported — 12 never appear in this report
- ✓No open federal violations
+How this score is calculated
Every system starts at 100. Points come off for measured levels, for the federal violation record, and for how much of the core regulated set the utility actually reported. All three inputs are the utility's own published numbers and EPA's own records.
- −60 contaminants at or above a federal limit
- −0 contaminants within 20% of a limit
- −0 open health-based violations
- −0 open monitoring / reporting violations
- −0 health-based violations resolved in the last 5 years
- −6 core regulated contaminants never reported (15/27)
A 90–100 · B 80–89 · C 70–79 · D 60–69 · F below 60. A system reporting under a third of the core set is capped at C however clean its numbers look — a short report is not a clean bill of health.
Full grading methodology, constant for constant →What to worry about
- PFOS6.2× the federal limit24.8 ng/L · limit 4 ng/L
Linked to cancer, thyroid disease, and immune effects; the EPA set an enforceable limit of 4 parts per trillion.
Higher than 90% of CA systems that report it · higher than 90% of U.S. systems
- PFOA3.1× the federal limit12.5 ng/L · limit 4 ng/L
Linked to cancer, liver damage, and immune effects; the EPA set an enforceable limit of 4 parts per trillion.
Higher than 90% of CA systems that report it · higher than 90% of U.S. systems
+25 contaminants were measured and came in below the limitShow all
| Contaminant | Measured | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 43.6 ug/L | 80 ug/L |
| Chlorine Total | 2.16 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid | 3.3 ng/L | 10 ng/L |
| Perfluorononanoic acid | 2.7 ng/L | 10 ng/L |
| HAA5 | 12.2 ug/L | 60 ug/L |
| Arsenic | 1.9 ug/L | 10 ug/L |
| Fluoride | 0.7 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Nitrate | 1.6 mg/L | 10 mg/L |
| Combined Radium | 0.1 pCi/L | 5 pCi/L |
| Uranium | 0.5 ug/L | 30 ug/L |
| Barium | 0.124 ug/L | 2000 ug/L |
| Copper | 0.057 ug/L | 1300 ug/L |
| Aluminum | 46.5 ug/L | — |
| Chromium, Hexavalent | 0.6 ug/L | — |
| Lead | 0.0 mg/L | 0.015 mg/L |
| Lithium | 31.5 ug/L | — |
| Total Coliform | 0 | 0 |
| Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid | 5.1 ng/L | — |
| Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) | 1.7 ng/L | — |
| Perfluoroheptanoic acid | 3.9 ng/L | — |
| Perfluorohexanoic acid | 7.7 ng/L | — |
| Perfluoropentanoic acid | 2 ng/L | — |
| Turbidity | Not detected NTU | 1 NTU |
| Gross Alpha | Not detected pCi/L | 15 pCi/L |
| Gross Beta Particle Activity | 2 | — |
What this report doesn't tell you
12 of the 27 contaminants a community water system normally reports do not appear anywhere in City of Bell Gardens — Downey, Ca, CA's data. Absent is not the same as absent-from-the-water — it means nobody published a number.
+Full detail: PFAS testing, water source, historical monitoring, and the federal violation record
Compliance history
Federal Safe Drinking Water Act violation & enforcement records (EPA SDWIS). A violation is a regulatory determination by the state or EPA — separate from the measured levels above.