Davis, California
City of Davis 2024 Water Quality Report (PWS CA5710001). Weighted-average hardness 66 ppm / 3.9 gpg (range 57–640). Chlorine 0.8 ppm. City materials tell residents to consider bypassing softeners because salts load wetlands — that is not a Measure S-style ban. Check the sewer agency on the bill.
- Hardness as CaCO3 (weighted avg)66 ppm (range 57–640)
- Chlorine0.8 ppm (range 0.1–1.7)
- Chromium-61 ppb (range ND–31)
Best match for Davis
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.
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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
- City of Davis Public Works
- Hardness
- 2024 weighted average 66 ppm / 3.9 gpg. Table hardness as CaCO3 66 ppm weighted average (range 57–640). Do not use older groundwater-era 306 ppm as current. — City of Davis 2024 Water Quality Report (PWS CA5710001)
- Disinfectant
- Chlorine 0.8 ppm average (range 0.1–1.7), MRDL 4.0, 2024. Printed as chlorine. Treatment uses sodium hypochlorite on surface water and wellhead chlorine. — City of Davis 2024 Water Quality Report (PWS CA5710001)
- Brine / salt to the sewer
- Check the sanitation district before installing. The 2024 CCR and city water flyer tell residents to consider bypassing softeners because salts load wetlands. That is education, not an install prohibition. No Measure S-style ban turned up. Ask Public Works before 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
- Chromium-6The 2024 report prints hexavalent chromium 1 ppb (range ND–31) with a footnote that an exceedance is not in violation until after October 1, 2026. That is the labeled row, not a tap average we invented.1 ppb (range ND–31) — footnote exceedance, not in violation until after 10/1/2026.2024 Water Quality Report (PWS CA5710001) — City of Davis / State Water Resources Control Board
- 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
Davis drinking water is WDCWA surface water blended with wells. City materials tell residents to consider bypassing softeners because salts load wetlands. That is not a Measure S-style install ban. Ask Public Works before you cut a brine drain. This is not a legal opinion.
The 2024 report prints weighted-average hardness 66 ppm / 3.9 gpg (range 57–640). Chlorine 0.8 ppm (range 0.1–1.7). Kitchen shopping stays the Cloud RO / Waterdrop path already used on other cities if a listing is why you are looking.
Sources
- 2024 Water Quality Report (PWS CA5710001) — City of Davis / State Water Resources Control Board. Accessed 2026-09-09.
Updated September 9, 2026. A city file is chemistry we can cite plus the sewer rule. No invented detections.