Discovery Bay, California

Town of Discovery Bay CSD Ordinance No. 24 (adopted January 22, 2014) prohibits installing a residential or non-residential self-regenerating water softening appliance that discharges to the District sewer or a tributary District sewer. That is a Discovery Bay CSD sewer/POTW rule — not a statewide ban. The 2024 report prints hardness 209 mg/L (range 157–322) from the town wells.

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.

Hardness209 mg/L (range 157–322)
Manganese148 µg/L (range 97.2–300)
TDS744 mg/L (range 560–1480)
Chloride165 mg/L (range 88–420)

On the report

Water utility: Town of Discovery Bay Community Services District
Hardness: 209 mg/L as CaCO3 (range 157–322). Single sodium-and-hardness table on the 2024 Annual Water Quality Report. No second supply column. — Town of Discovery Bay 2024 Annual Water Quality Report
Disinfectant: The 2024 tables we opened do not print a chlorine or chloramine residual row. Open the current report for the residual. — Town of Discovery Bay 2024 Annual Water Quality Report
Sanitation district: Town of Discovery Bay Community Services District
Brine / salt to the sewer: Self-regenerating salt softeners prohibited (district rule). Town of Discovery Bay CSD Ordinance No. 24, Water Softening Regulation Ordinance (adopted January 22, 2014; effective 30 days after first publication) Section 4 says no person shall install or assist in installing a residential or non-residential self-regenerating water softening appliance that discharges into the District sewer system or a District sewer tributary to that system. New devices must comply; the ordinance says non-brine discharging water softening devices such as membrane or carbon systems are not prohibited. Section 6 allows 30 days after a Notice of Violation to correct or remove; after that, an administrative fine of $250 per month until removed. That is a Discovery Bay CSD sewer/POTW rule — not a statewide ban. Ask the CSD 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 2024 table numbersThe same 2024 sodium-and-hardness and secondary tables print these as detected results, not a number we invented.Sodium 170 mg/L (range 114–276). Arsenic 2 µg/L (range ND–6), MCL 10. Fluoride 0.3 mg/L (range 0.2–0.3). Lead 90th percentile 2 µg/L (30 sites / 0 above AL 15). Copper 90th 0.60 mg/L (30/0 above AL 1.3). Iron 82 µg/L (range 40–150), secondary MCL 300. Sulfate 77.2 mg/L (range 33.9–108).2024 Annual Water Quality Report (PWS ID 0710009) — Town of Discovery Bay Community Services District
PFASThe 2024 booklet says all required UCMR 5 PFAS sampling in 2024 was non-detectable or well below the reporting limits, with results on file with state and federal regulators. This file does not invent a detection number.UCMR 5 PFAS sampling collected in 2024; results described as non-detectable or well below reporting limits.2024 Annual Water Quality Report (PWS ID 0710009) — Town of Discovery Bay Community Services District

Discovery Bay’s sewer rule is a Town of Discovery Bay Community Services District ordinance, not a statewide salt-softener ban. Ordinance No. 24, Town of Discovery Bay Water Softening Regulation Ordinance, adopted January 22, 2014 (5–0), effective thirty days after first publication. Ask the CSD or the agency on the sewer bill about the address.

Section 4: no person shall install or in any manner assist in the installation of a residential or non-residential self-regenerating water softening appliance that discharges into the District sewer system or that discharges into a District sewer tributary to that system. New devices must comply. The ordinance says use of non-brine discharging water softening devices such as membrane or carbon systems are not prohibited by the District. Section 6: a Notice of Violation allows 30 days to correct or remove; after that, an administrative fine of $250 per month until the system is removed. We do not invent another exception.

Drinking water is the Town wells (Well 1B, 2, 4A, 6, and 7) in the San Joaquin Valley Basin, PWS 0710009. The 2024 Annual Water Quality Report prints hardness 209 mg/L as CaCO3 (range 157–322) on the sodium-and-hardness table. One column. We do not invent a second supply.

The 2024 tables we opened do not print a chlorine or chloramine residual. Secondary table: manganese 148 µg/L (range 97.2–300) against a secondary MCL of 50 — a secondary aesthetic standard. TDS 744 mg/L (range 560–1480). Chloride 165 mg/L (range 88–420). Kitchen shopping stays the Cloud RO / Waterdrop path already used on other cities if a listing is why you are looking.

What actually fits

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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 water tastes like the plant’s disinfectant

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.

Open the CCR for chlorine vs chloramine, then match that claim. A 42 chlorine listing is not chloramine.

Shop whole-house carbon Shop catalytic carbon for chloramine

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 No. 24, Water Softening Regulation Ordinance — Town of Discovery Bay Community Services District. Accessed 2026-09-06.
2024 Annual Water Quality Report (PWS ID 0710009) — Town of Discovery Bay Community Services District. Accessed 2026-09-06.

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