PFOA · California

PFOA in California water

PFOA was detected in 88 of 398 California cities with a published result, 88 of them with a sample above a 2024 EPA limit.

Check PFOA where I live All California water

Where PFOA is found in California

88 cities with a sample above a 2024 EPA limit

Cities where detected · a sample above a 2024 EPA limit first

Not detected or no usable result: 310 cities

Values are from the published EPA record; a contaminant that was never tested is shown as pending, never as a pass. A system-level result, not a measurement of any single home. That limit is judged on a yearly average, and water systems have until 2029 to meet it, so a single sample is not a violation.

Treatment, if a finding establishes a need

What can carry a PFOA reduction claim

Compare treatments for PFOA

Reverse osmosis
Semi-permeable membrane separation removing dissolved minerals, heavy metals, and persistent fluorinated chemicals down to 0.0001 microns.
Activated carbon (GAC)
Highly porous adsorption media targeting chlorine, disinfection byproducts, volatile organic compounds, and organic chemicals.
Anion exchange
Synthetic polyvalent resin beads that exchange unwanted dissolved ionic contaminants for harmless benchmark ions.

What does not help

Boiling does not remove a dissolved chemical compound and can concentrate it. Many pitcher and refrigerator filters carry no verified claim for a compound like this at all.

Order of operations

A finding establishes the need, the need names the capability, the capability requires a verified certification. No product appears before that sequence completes. Filter Finder →

Check your water

88 cities with a sample above a 2024 EPA limit

What can carry a PFOA reduction claim

Find the water system behind your tap.