Chico, California
California Water Service Chico System 2025 Water Quality Report. Groundwater hardness 124 ppm average (range 80–322). Free chlorine 0.60 ppm. No Measure S-style residential softener ban turned up — check the sewer agency on the bill.
- Hardness (groundwater)124 ppm (range 80–322)
- Free chlorine0.60 ppm (range ND–1.1)
- Chromium-62.2 ppb (range 0.42–9.1)
- Nitrate as N1.7 ppm (range ND–5.6)
Best match for Chico
Salt-based water softener — confirm the district first
Check the sanitation district before installing a salt system.
Ask the agency on the sewer side of the bill before you cut a brine drain. California lets districts restrict self-regenerating units. A “banned in California” blog is not your district.
Some links are affiliate links. If you buy through one, we may earn a commission. That does not change the match, and it is not a medical claim.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Other options that still fit
Salt-free conditioner
A salt-free conditioner changes how scale sticks. It does not soften. Soap and spots stay closer to untreated. No brine line.
Whole-house carbon for chlorine
That is chlorine. A whole-house carbon filter with an NSF/ANSI 42 chlorine claim is the usual match. A softener will not take chlorine out.
Under-sink reverse osmosis
The under-sink RO we actually run is Cloud RO — NSF/ANSI 58, kitchen tap, not a whole-house tank. Check the exact listing if PFAS is why you are shopping. Shop Amazon first for under-sink RO, or buy Cloud direct. Waterdrop is a tankless option if you want that path. A certifier-listed pitcher is the cheap first step. Nobody is paying for a medical claim.
Shop under-sink reverse osmosisBuy Cloud RO directShop Waterdrop reverse osmosisShop PFAS-listed pitchers
Test the tap first
A homeowner kit is a start. It is not a state-certified lab. Use a certified lab when the decision is expensive.
On the report
- Water utility
- California Water Service (Chico System)
- Hardness
- Groundwater only. Hardness (total) 124 ppm average (range 80–322), 2020–2025. — California Water Service 2025 Water Quality Report — Chico System
- Disinfectant
- Free chlorine 0.60 ppm average (range ND–1.1), 2025. Printed as free chlorine. — California Water Service 2025 Water Quality Report — Chico System
- Brine / salt to the sewer
- Check the sanitation district before installing. No Measure S-style residential self-regenerating install ban like LACSD Measure S turned up. That is not a statewide ban finding. Ask the sewer agency on the bill before you cut a brine drain.
Also around here
Extra context besides the utility report and the chart above — geology, an unregulated table, or a published study. Not a second set of printed tap numbers.
- MicroplasticsWHO’s 2019 review examined studies that found microplastic particles in treated tap and bottled water in many places. That is a published-occurrence finding, not a number from this city’s water-quality report, and we do not invent a particles-per-liter count for the tap.Microplastics in drinking-water — World Health Organization
- PFASEPA’s Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule required community systems this size to test 29 PFAS and lithium in 2023–2025. Open the UCMR 5 Data Finder for this PWS. This file does not invent a detection.Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Chico drinking water on this file is California Water Service groundwater. No Measure S-style residential self-regenerating install ban turned up. Ask the sewer agency on the bill before you cut a brine drain. This is not a legal opinion.
The 2025 report prints hardness 124 ppm (range 80–322). Free chlorine 0.60 ppm. Kitchen shopping stays the Cloud RO / Waterdrop path already used on other cities if a listing is why you are looking.
Sources
- 2025 Water Quality Report — Chico System — California Water Service. Accessed 2026-09-09.
Updated September 9, 2026. A city file is chemistry we can cite plus the sewer rule. No invented detections.