Chloride in California well water
In California, chloride was detected in 100% of 25,586 tested private well samples.
Chloride mainly comes from road salt and water softener discharge. Above 250 mg/L water tastes salty and corrodes plumbing. Rising chloride in a well usually means road salt is reaching the aquifer.
Check your chloride number
Type the value from your lab report. It is compared to the EPA limit, the same way the full interpretation does it.
Test your California well for chloride
Certified lab analysis of your own tap water, bottles and prepaid return shipping included. The Essential well panel covers arsenic, uranium, nitrate, lead, copper, manganese, iron, sodium and bacteria; radon and PFAS are add-ons.
Order the Tap Score well water test kit, from $209Already tested? Upload the report
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Systems that remove chloride
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Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through one, the merchant pays us a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change which products we list or what the data says.
For chloride
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
Rather have it installed and sized for your well? Book a free in-home water test with a licensed local company.
Where to get a well tested for chloride in California: certified labs, state programs and prices.
By county, from individual samples
Public monitoring samples against the EPA limit; counties with at least 30 samples.
| County | Above EPA limit | Samples | Detected | Median | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kern | no limit | 3,380 | 100% | 60 | 55,800 mg/L |
| Tehama | no limit | 223 | 100% | 14 | 310 mg/L |
| Solano | no limit | 97 | 100% | 180 | 1,100 mg/L |
| San Joaquin | no limit | 1,173 | 100% | 30 | 2,400 mg/L |
| Inyo | no limit | 345 | 100% | 1,140 | 65,000 mg/L |
| Kings | no limit | 324 | 100% | 71.5 | 16,000 mg/L |
| Los Angeles | no limit | 2,806 | 100% | 22.4 | 20,400 mg/L |
| Santa Cruz | no limit | 2,131 | 100% | 41.6 | 13,300 mg/L |
| Alameda | no limit | 4,436 | 100% | 120 | 44,200 mg/L |
| Fresno | no limit | 1,960 | 100% | 96 | 10,000 mg/L |
| Colusa | no limit | 322 | 100% | 40.5 | 626 mg/L |
| Contra Costa | no limit | 1,151 | 100% | 180 | 7,000 mg/L |
| Humboldt | no limit | 165 | 100% | 12 | 135 mg/L |
| San Diego | no limit | 137 | 100% | 111 | 692 mg/L |
| Monterey | no limit | 431 | 100% | 78 | 10,800 mg/L |
- Whittier CCD, Los Angeles County100% detected of 234
- Dos Palos CCD, Merced County100% detected of 127
- Gustine CCD, Merced County100% detected of 246
- Atwater CCD, Merced County100% detected of 225
- Livingston-Delhi CCD, Merced County100% detected of 190
- Los Banos CCD, Merced County100% detected of 151
- Merced CCD, Merced County100% detected of 249
- Planada-Le Grand CCD, Merced County100% detected of 98
- Hilmar-Irwin CCD, Merced County100% detected of 110
- Compton CCD, Los Angeles County100% detected of 74
- Downey-Norwalk CCD, Los Angeles County100% detected of 75
- East San Gabriel Valley CCD, Los Angeles County100% detected of 37
- Inglewood CCD, Los Angeles County100% detected of 54
- Long Beach-Lakewood CCD, Los Angeles County100% detected of 142
- Los Angeles CCD, Los Angeles County100% detected of 98
- North Antelope Valley CCD, Los Angeles County100% detected of 1,198
- South Antelope Valley CCD, Los Angeles County100% detected of 651
- South Gate-East Los Angeles CCD, Los Angeles County100% detected of 58
- Southwest San Gabriel Valley CCD, Los Angeles County100% detected of 36
- Santa Cruz CCD, Santa Cruz County100% detected of 249
Sources
- Individual samples from the USGS Water Quality Portal and state monitoring, summarized per geography. chloride counts and shares are listed on each county and town page with their sources.