Water Quality – City of Sacramento

Water Quality

The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities is committed to bringing high quality water to our customers.

Each day, we treat and test our water to help ensure that this commitment is kept.

CITY Drinking Water Meets or Exceeds All State and Federal Drinking Water Standards

Each day, we test our water hundreds of times to ensure that it meets certain standards — called “Maximum Contaminant Levels” — as required by the State and Federal Government.

Each June, City customers receive a copy of a water quality report in their water bill, which is called a Consumer Confidence Report.

The City also strives to meet Public Health Goals, which are set by the State of California to encourage drinking water providers to do the best they can to provide safe, high-quality drinking water. They are goals, not requirements for the City to achieve. The City actively works towards these goals and reports on them to the City Council every 3 years.

The following are several resources about drinking water quality:

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my drinking water safe to drink?
Your water meets or exceeds all state and federal drinking water standards.  Staff work 24/7 to monitor your water for safety and water quality. Check our Consumer Confidence Report or refer to the water quality data portal for more information.  

How do I know if there is something wrong with my water?
The City will immediately issue drinking water advisories in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act if there are any concerns about the safety of your water.

We issue four types of advisories depending on the scenario:

• Informational: Informs you about any anticipated changes in water quality and any recommended actions
• Boil water: We typically issue a boil water advisory as a precautionary step if we believe there is potential threat to the safety or quality of your water
• Do not drink: This type of advisory is issued when the water remains safe for other uses, such as bathing, but is not safe to drink or prepare food with, even after boiling
• Do not use: While these advisories are rare, this type of advisory demands all customers to stop use of their tap water for any purpose

We will distribute a drinking water advisory through various communications channels to ensure we reach our customers. These include television, print and radio media, social media, door hangers, our website, automated messages and other methods of communication. 

How often is the water I drink tested?
Staff test your water hundreds of times per week to ensure it meets or exceeds state and federal drinking water standards. See our water quality portal for an update on frequently tested constituents.