Santa Barbara County Water Quality: 6 Cities Ranked by the Records

Name: Santa Barbara County Water Quality Data (2026)
Creator: PurityMap
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Santa Barbara County, California: 6 city reports built from EPA and utility records. A county has many suppliers; each city shows the system that serves it.

Find my system Open on the map Private wells in Santa Barbara County

Across the county's systems

Highest result for each contaminant

One row per contaminant: the highest result any system in the county reported, against its limit. Open a row for the systems behind it.

LithiumDetected in 6 systems10 µg/L EPA health reference level (screening, not a legal limit) · US EPAHighest53.5 µg/L

GOLETA WATER DISTRICT53.5 µg/LSample date: 2024-12-10 to 2025-09-09
CITY OF SANTA BARBARA WATER DEPARTMENT42.5 µg/LSample date: 2023-07-10 to 2024-04-08
LOMPOC-CITY WATER UTILITY DIV40.5 µg/LSample date: 2023-04-19 to 2024-01-25
CARPINTERIA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT37.3 µg/LSample date: 2023-05-03 to 2024-02-06
GOLDEN STATE WATER COMPANY - ORCUTT24.1 µg/LSample date: 2023-09-12 to 2024-06-19
CITY OF SANTA MARIA UTILITIES DEPARTMENT15.1 µg/LSample date: 2025-03-18 to 2025-10-20

Lead (90th percentile)Detected in 2 systems of 6 tested15 µg/L federal action level · US EPAHighest2.6 µg/L

GOLDEN STATE WATER COMPANY - ORCUTT2.6 µg/LMonitoring period: 2024–2026 (still open)
CITY OF SANTA BARBARA WATER DEPARTMENT2.5 µg/LMonitoring period: 2024–2026 (still open)
CARPINTERIA VALLEY WATER DISTRICTNot detectedMonitoring period: 2023–2025
CITY OF SANTA MARIA UTILITIES DEPARTMENTNot detectedMonitoring period: 2023–2025
GOLETA WATER DISTRICTNot detectedMonitoring period: 2022–2024
LOMPOC-CITY WATER UTILITY DIVNot detectedMonitoring period: 2023–2025

Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)Detected in 1 system of 6 tested400,000 ng/L Michigan EGLE state MCL (strictest US state) · Michigan EGLEHighest4.5 ng/L

GOLETA WATER DISTRICT4.5 ng/LSample date: 2024-12-10 to 2025-09-09
CARPINTERIA VALLEY WATER DISTRICTNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2023-05-03 to 2024-02-06
CITY OF SANTA BARBARA WATER DEPARTMENTNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2023-07-10 to 2024-05-06
CITY OF SANTA MARIA UTILITIES DEPARTMENTNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2025-03-18 to 2025-10-20
GOLDEN STATE WATER COMPANY - ORCUTTNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2023-09-12 to 2024-06-19
LOMPOC-CITY WATER UTILITY DIVNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2023-04-19 to 2024-01-25

Perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA)Detected in 1 system of 6 testedNo federal or state limit; shown for transparencyHighest5.9 ng/L

GOLETA WATER DISTRICT5.9 ng/LSample date: 2024-12-10 to 2025-09-09
CARPINTERIA VALLEY WATER DISTRICTNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2023-05-03 to 2024-02-06
CITY OF SANTA BARBARA WATER DEPARTMENTNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2023-07-10 to 2024-05-06
CITY OF SANTA MARIA UTILITIES DEPARTMENTNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2025-03-18 to 2025-10-20
GOLDEN STATE WATER COMPANY - ORCUTTNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2023-09-12 to 2024-06-19
LOMPOC-CITY WATER UTILITY DIVNot detected · below 3.0 ng/L lab reporting limitSample date: 2023-04-19 to 2024-01-25

27 PFAS tested, none detected in any systemShow

Tested in these 6 systems: CARPINTERIA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT, CITY OF SANTA BARBARA WATER DEPARTMENT, CITY OF SANTA MARIA UTILITIES DEPARTMENT, GOLDEN STATE WATER COMPANY - ORCUTT, GOLETA WATER DISTRICT, LOMPOC-CITY WATER UTILITY DIV

11-Chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid (11Cl-PF3OUdS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecane sulfonic acid (8:2 FTS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (4:2 FTS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS)
4,8-Dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid (ADONA)
9-Chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1-sulfonic acid (9Cl-PF3ONS)
Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) (GenX chemicals)
N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NEtFOSAA)
N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NMeFOSAA)
Nonafluoro-3,6-dioxaheptanoic acid (NFDHA)
Perfluoro (2-ethoxyethane) sulfonic acid (PFEESA)
Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (PFMPA)
Perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid (PFMBA)
Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)
Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA)
Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)
Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA)
Perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS)
Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)
Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
Perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS)
Perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTA)
Perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA)
Perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA)

6 cities

Cities ranked by the records

1
Santa MariaCITY OF SANTA MARIA UTILITIES DEPARTMENT
No PFAS detected
Open city report →
2
GoletaGOLETA WATER DISTRICT
PFAS detected, within limit
Open city report →
3
LompocLOMPOC-CITY WATER UTILITY DIV
No PFAS detected
Open city report →
4
CarpinteriaCARPINTERIA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT
No PFAS detected
Open city report →
5
Santa BarbaraCITY OF SANTA BARBARA WATER DEPARTMENT
No PFAS detectedLead below action level
Open city report →
6
OrcuttGOLDEN STATE WATER COMPANY - ORCUTT
No PFAS detectedLead below action level
Open city report →

Showing 6 of 6 cities · scores are system-level, not tap tests

Ranked by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, highest first. Scores belong to water systems; there is no county score. The score is computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record, so this ranks the record, not which city's water is safest. How the score works.

PFAS in Santa Barbara CountyPFAS detected in 1 of 6 cities; none had a sample above a 2024 EPA limit

4.0 ng/L federal MCL · PFOS, ng/LPFAS in California

Lead

0of 6 cities above the 15 µg/L action level

Based on each system's 90th-percentile result. Lead from household plumbing isn't in this record.

Lead in California

Who supplies the county

Largest water systems

Santa MariaCITY OF SANTA MARIA UTILITIES DEPARTMENT · CA4210011
112,208 served
Santa BarbaraCITY OF SANTA BARBARA WATER DEPARTMENT · CA4210010
93,334 served
GoletaGOLETA WATER DISTRICT · CA4210004
85,535 served
LompocLOMPOC-CITY WATER UTILITY DIV · CA4210006
40,538 served
OrcuttGOLDEN STATE WATER COMPANY - ORCUTT · CA4210016
34,267 served
CarpinteriaCARPINTERIA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT · CA4210001
16,356 served

Questions

Frequently asked

How does Santa Barbara County tap water compare across cities?

PurityMap ranks 6 cities in Santa Barbara County by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record. Scores belong to water systems, not to cities. The highest published score is Santa Maria's main water system: CITY OF SANTA MARIA UTILITIES DEPARTMENT · PWSID CA4210011 · Purity Score 100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level. The ranking compares the records, not which city's water is safest, and your own tap can differ with household plumbing.

How many Santa Barbara County cities had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit?

None of the 6 Santa Barbara County city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit in EPA's UCMR 5 testing. PFAS were detected below the limit in 1.

Is there lead in Santa Barbara County tap water?

Utilities report lead as a 90th-percentile result from home taps. 2 of 6 Santa Barbara County cities reported a value above zero, and none was above the 15 µg/L federal action level. Lead usually comes from a building's own pipes and fixtures, so only a test at your tap tells you what you drink.

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