Cal-Water Service Co.-Chico, CA
Lead reported as not detected
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2024-2026). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest 90th-percentile result was reported as 0 (not detected at the lab's limit). That says the sampled homes were low, not that your home has no lead service line. Check your utility's service line inventory for your address.
About Cal-Water Service Co.-Chico
Cal-Water Service Co.-Chico serves about 110,473 people through 30,464 service connections, which makes it a very large system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Butte County, California. EPA system ID: CA0410002; phone on file: 408-367-8490. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2023 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Cal-Water Service Co.-Chico is 1.26 ppb across 6 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2023 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2020 | 1.26 ppb |
| 2020 | 1.26 ppb |
| 2017 | 0 (not detected) |
Where this result ranks
Of the 2,884 California systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 0 ppb; 30 are over 15 ppb right now and 215 have gone over at some point. Cal-Water Service Co.-Chico's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 62nd percentile in California and the 40th nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Nearby utilities
41 other systems share Butte County; 14 of them have a higher latest lead result than Cal-Water Service Co.-Chico. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| South Feather W&P - Miners Ranch | 22,638 | 0 (not detected) |
| Thermalito Water & Sewer Dist | 12,209 | 0 (not detected) |
| Cal-Water Service Co.-Oroville | 11,047 | 0.9 ppb |
| Del Oro Water Co.-Paradise Pines | 10,738 | 0.54 ppb |
| Paradise Irrigation District | 9,114 | 0 (not detected) |
| City Of Gridley | 7,269 | 0 (not detected) |
| City Of Biggs | 2,060 | 6.91 ppb |
| Durham Irrigation District | 1,581 | 0.74 ppb |
| Del Oro Water Co.-Lime Saddle Marina | 954 | 0 (not detected) |
| Del Oro Water Co.-Stirling Bluffs | 512 | 4.55 ppb |
Your move
Look up your address in Cal-Water Service Co.-Chico's service line inventory. If it says lead, galvanized or unknown, test your tap. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Cal-Water Service Co.-Chico whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do.
These figures describe homes the utility sampled, not your tap. Only your service line record or a test of your own water answers the question for your house. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. A zero today does not rule out a jump later - the rules are tightening in 2027.