Chino, California

Inland Empire Utilities Agency Ordinance § 2.6 prohibits installing, replacing, or enlarging a self-regenerating water softening appliance that discharges to a community sewer tributary to the IEUA regional sewerage system. Chino is an IEUA contracting agency. That is an IEUA regional sewer/POTW rule — not a statewide ban. The 2024 report prints hardness as three labeled columns, not a citywide blend.

Cited numbers from the utility report. Length follows the printed value against a labeled scale — not a health ranking. If the report has no number, it is not on the chart.

Hardness (City of Chino)248 ppm (range 180–280)
Hardness (CDA)148 ppm (range 110–170)
Hardness (WFA)119 ppm (range 69.9–190)
Chlorine (City of Chino)0.44 ppm (range 0.29–0.68)
Chromium-6 (City of Chino)8.6 ppb (range 6.7–10)

On the report

Water utility: City of Chino Public Works
Hardness: City of Chino column 248.33 ppm as CaCO3 (range 180–280). Chino Desalter Authority 147.8 ppm (range 110–170). Water Facilities Authority 119.1 ppm (range 69.9–190). Those are three labeled columns, not a blended citywide number. 2024 Water Quality Report. — City of Chino 2024 Water Quality Report
Disinfectant: Chlorine 0.44 ppm (range 0.29–0.68) on the City of Chino column, MRDL 4.0 as Cl2, 2024 report. CDA and WFA columns are NA on that chlorine row. — City of Chino 2024 Water Quality Report
Sanitation district: Inland Empire Utilities Agency (Chino is a contracting agency)
Brine / salt to the sewer: Self-regenerating salt softeners prohibited (district rule). IEUA Ordinance § 2.6 says the installation, replacement, or enlargement of any self-regenerating water softening appliance which discharges into the Community Sewer System that is tributary to the Regional Sewerage System shall not be allowed. Each contracting agency shall adopt a local ordinance to implement the restriction. The section does not apply to a portable-exchange water softener regenerated off-site at a lawfully regulated location. IEUA may offer a voluntary rebate for removal of an operational unit. The City of Chino is an IEUA contracting agency. That is an IEUA regional sewer/POTW rule — not a statewide ban. Ask Chino Public Works or the agency on the sewer bill about the address.

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
Other City of Chino column numbersThe same 2024 tables print these as City of Chino column results, not a CDA or WFA blend.Nitrate as N 2.14 ppm (range 1.2–8.4), MCL 10. HAA5 4.8 ppb (range ND–14). TTHMs 41.1 ppb (range 14–57). Lead 90th percentile 3.8 ppb (4 of 49 sites above AL 15). Copper 90th 0.31 ppm (0 of 49 above AL 1.3).2024 Water Quality Report (PWS ID CA3610012) — City of Chino Public Works
PFASThe 2024 booklet says the city participated in UCMR 5 and that unregulated-contaminant data is available on request. The tables we opened do not print a PFAS detection row. This file does not invent one.2024 Water Quality Report (PWS ID CA3610012) — City of Chino Public Works

Chino’s sewer rule is an Inland Empire Utilities Agency regional ordinance, not a statewide salt-softener ban. IEUA Ordinance § 2.6: the installation, replacement, or enlargement of any self-regenerating water softening appliance which discharges into the Community Sewer System that is tributary to the Regional Sewerage System shall not be allowed. Each contracting agency shall adopt a local ordinance. The section does not apply to a portable-exchange water softener regenerated off-site at a lawfully regulated location. IEUA may offer a voluntary rebate for removal of an operational unit. The City of Chino is an IEUA contracting agency. The City of Chino is not IEUA if the address is on another sewer. Ask Public Works or the agency on the sewer bill about the address.

Drinking water in 2024 was about 80 percent treated groundwater (city wells and Chino Basin Desalter Authority) and 20 percent surface water treated at the Agua de Lejos / Water Facilities Authority plant. The 2024 Water Quality Report prints hardness as three labeled columns — City of Chino 248.33 ppm as CaCO3 (range 180–280), Chino Desalter Authority 147.8 ppm (range 110–170), and Water Facilities Authority 119.1 ppm (range 69.9–190). We do not invent a citywide blend.

City of Chino column chlorine 0.44 ppm (range 0.29–0.68). Chromium-6 8.6 ppb (range 6.7–10), MCL 10. Kitchen shopping stays the Cloud RO / Waterdrop path already used on other cities if a listing is why you are looking.

What actually fits

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.

If you want actual soft water

Portable-exchange tanks, if that exception applies at your address. The resin still removes hardness. The salt work happens off site. Do not install a self-regenerating unit to the sewer here.

If you only want less scale and you hate salt bags

A single tall tank with no brine tank, installed in a laundry alcove next to a washing machine. — Salt-free conditioner: one tank, no salt bin.

A salt-free conditioner changes how scale sticks. It does not soften. Soap and spots stay closer to untreated. No brine line.

Shop salt-free conditioners

If the shower just smells like the pool

A single black whole-house carbon tank with a control head, installed in a garage and connected to copper pipe. — Whole-house carbon tank. No brine tank.

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.

Shop whole-house carbon

If you are shopping a PFAS listing for the kitchen

Under-sink reverse osmosis system with a white storage tank, filter canisters, and colored tubing in a kitchen cabinet. — Under-sink reverse osmosis: filters, tank, and a second faucet.

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. 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 Cloud RO Shop Waterdrop reverse osmosis Shop PFAS-listed pitchers

If you have not tested the tap

A homeowner kit is a start. It is not a state-certified lab. Use a certified lab when the decision is expensive.

Shop water test kits

Sources

Ordinance regulating the regional sewerage system, § 2.6 Restrictions on self-regenerating water softening appliances — Inland Empire Utilities Agency. Accessed 2026-09-06.
Water Softener Removal Rebate Program (IEUA service-area cities) — Inland Empire Utilities Agency. Accessed 2026-09-06.
2024 Water Quality Report (PWS ID CA3610012) — City of Chino Public Works. Accessed 2026-09-06.

Updated September 6, 2026. A city file is chemistry we can cite plus the sewer rule. No invented detections.