Placer County tap water: hardness, PFAS and lead

Placer County, California has about 433,822 residents (Census 2024 estimate) and 52 community water systems in EPA records. The largest local system is City of Roseville, serving about 165,736 people from surface water.

✓ 0 of 6 largest systems with health-based violationsPFAS detected at 1 of 6 sampled systemsHardness 2.0 gpg (low confidence)

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

How hard is Placer County water?

City of Roseville Estimate: untreated local water, not your tap · Low confidence

2.0 gpg (35 mg/L), soft

Placer County: median of 1,021 results from 152 monitoring sites (streams and wells). Utilities may blend or treat water, so your tap can differ.

Source: Hard Water Map county data, samples through 2022

County estimates: Hard Water Map (hardwatermap.com), CC BY 4.0, derived from the USGS/EPA Water Quality Portal; file generated 2026-07-22. License

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

Softener size at 2 gpg

For a 3-person home using 57 gallons per person per day and regenerating weekly, you'd remove about 2,394 grains between regenerations. Suggested size: 24,000 grain. This uses a low-confidence county estimate, so confirm with a test first.

Estimate only. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

Open the softener calculator with 2 gpg

Largest water systems in Placer County

The 6 biggest of 52 community water systems on EPA records for this county. Service areas don't follow county lines; your water bill names your provider.

City of Roseville

CA3110008 · serves about 165,736 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below detection✓ No PFAS detected

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2022-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

Placer Cwa - Foothill

CA3110025 · serves about 93,417 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below detection✓ No PFAS detected

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

City of Lincoln

CA3110004 · serves about 56,268 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below detectionPFAS detected (2 types)

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2025-01-01). Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

  • PFHxS: highest sample 8.5 ppt (2 of 8 samples); federal limit 10.0 ppt as a running annual average, also counted in EPA's PFAS mixture (hazard index) limit (currently in effect; EPA has proposed removing it)
  • PFOS: highest sample 4.3 ppt (1 of 8 samples); federal limit 4.0 ppt as a running annual average

EPA ECHO record

Placer Cwa - Auburn/Bowman

CA3110005 · serves about 27,317 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below detection✓ No PFAS detected

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2023-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

Cal Am - West Placer

CA3110150 · serves about 9,547 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below detection✓ No PFAS detected

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2020-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

Nevada Id - North Auburn

CA3110026 · serves about 6,870 people · Surface water

✓ No health-based violations✓ Lead below detection✓ No PFAS detected

Lead 90th percentile: <DL (below the lab detection/reporting limit; reported as 0) (period starting 2021-01-01) Older result. Action level: 15 ppb (drops to 10 ppb on Nov 1, 2027).

EPA ECHO record

Public-record figures, not a test of your tap. Not 100% accurate or guaranteed. Confirm with a water test, your utility or a qualified pro before you buy or act.

A PFAS detection is not a violation. Federal limits (4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS) apply to running annual averages, with compliance required by 2029. In May 2026 EPA proposed extending the PFOA/PFOS deadline to 2031 and removing other PFAS limits; not final as of 2026-10-21.

Test your own tap

These are public records for whole systems. Your home's pipes, fixtures and any private well can change what you drink. A certified lab test or a hardness test strip gives you your own numbers. Then use our PFAS and lead filter selector to see which certifications to look for.

Common questions about Placer County water

Is tap water in Placer County safe to drink?

None of the 6 largest systems here have a health-based violation in EPA records since October 2021. City of Roseville's most recent lead 90th percentile was below the lab detection limit (2022), below the 15 ppb action level. Public records can't guarantee what comes out of your tap, especially with older plumbing, so a home test is the surest check.

How hard is the water in Placer County?

There's no published utility figure in our data, but untreated local stream and well samples in Placer County have a median of about 2.0 grains per gallon (35 mg/L, soft). That's a low-confidence estimate of source water, not your tap, so test before you buy equipment. For a 3-person home at 2 gpg, our softener calculator suggests a 24,000 grain unit as a starting point.

Is there PFAS in Placer County water?

1 of the 6 sampled systems listed here detected at least one PFAS in EPA's UCMR 5 testing, and one result was above the level of a federal limit in at least one sample. A detection isn't a violation: federal PFAS limits apply to running annual averages starting in 2029.

Which water system serves my address in Placer County?

Most homes are served by City of Roseville or one of the other systems listed on this page, but service areas don't follow county lines. Your water bill names your provider, and its annual Consumer Confidence Report has the full test results.

More California counties

Sources for this page

Data as of October 21, 2026. Figures are copied from public records and combined with our own calculations; they can be out of date or wrong. Tapped Out isn't affiliated with any utility or the EPA. Written and reviewed by the Tapped Out team. How we calculate · All sources.