TapMatch

Richmond, California

East Bay Municipal Utility District 2025 Annual Water Quality Report — same official CCR as the Oakland file. Mokelumne River water treated at labeled plants. Hardness stays plant columns — Walnut Creek / Lafayette / Orinda about 1–2 grains, Sobrante 4–6, Upper San Leandro 8–9. Chloramine 0.7–0.8 ppm. No Measure S-style residential softener ban ordinance opened — check the sewer agency on the bill.

Cited chemistry for RichmondA chart of numbers printed on the utility report, each labeled with its unit. Missing numbers are left off.Hardness (Orinda)1–2 gpg (14–40 ppm)Hardness (Sobrante)4–6 gpg (64–98 ppm)Chloramine0.7–0.8 ppmWQR
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.
  1. Hardness (Orinda)1–2 gpg (14–40 ppm)
  2. Hardness (Sobrante)4–6 gpg (64–98 ppm)
  3. Chloramine0.7–0.8 ppm

Best match for Richmond

Salt-based water softener — confirm the district first

Check the sanitation district before installing a salt system.

Two tall mineral tanks and a black brine tank of a salt-based water softener, plumbed with copper pipe in a garage.
Salt-based softener: two mineral tanks and a brine tank.

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.

Shop salt-based softeners

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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.

    Shop salt-free conditioners

  • Whole-house catalytic carbon for chloramine

    Catalytic carbon with a chloramine claim (NSF/ANSI 42 for chloramine). Regular chlorine carbon is the wrong box.

    Shop catalytic carbon for chloramine

  • 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.

    Shop water test kits

On the report

Water utility
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Hardness
Walnut Creek 1 grain (15–21 ppm). Lafayette 1–2 grains (14–27 ppm). Orinda 1–2 grains (14–40 ppm). Sobrante 4–6 grains (64–98 ppm). Upper San Leandro 8–9 grains (140–160 ppm). Those are labeled plant columns, not a blended citywide number. San Pablo plant was out of service in 2025. Same EBMUD 2025 Annual Water Quality Report cited on the Oakland file. — East Bay Municipal Utility District 2025 Annual Water Quality Report
Disinfectant
Chloramine as chlorine 0.7–0.8 ppm on the Walnut Creek, Lafayette, and Orinda columns. MRDL 4. 2025 report. — East Bay Municipal Utility District 2025 Annual Water Quality Report
Brine / salt to the sewer
Check the sanitation district before installing. No EBMUD or City of Richmond residential softener ban like LACSD Measure S turned up. That is not a statewide ban finding. EBMUD sewer is not every East Bay or West County address. Ask EBMUD or the agency on the sewer 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
  • Other plant columnsThe same 2025 table prints these as labeled plant results. EBMUD also serves Oakland, Berkeley, and other East Bay cities; this file is the Richmond CA route.Sobrante hardness 4–6 gpg (64–98 ppm). Walnut Creek 1 gpg (15–21 ppm). Lafayette 1–2 gpg (14–27 ppm).2025 Annual Water Quality Report — East Bay Municipal Utility District

Richmond drinking water on the EBMUD system is Mokelumne River water treated at labeled plants — the same 2025 Annual Water Quality Report cited on the Oakland file. No EBMUD or City of Richmond residential softener ban like LACSD Measure S turned up. Ask EBMUD or the agency on the sewer bill before you cut a brine drain. This is not a legal opinion. EBMUD also serves Oakland, Berkeley, and other East Bay cities; this file is the Richmond CA route.

The 2025 Annual Water Quality Report prints hardness as plant columns — Walnut Creek 1 grain (15–21 ppm), Lafayette 1–2 grains (14–27 ppm), Orinda 1–2 grains (14–40 ppm), Sobrante 4–6 grains (64–98 ppm), Upper San Leandro 8–9 grains (140–160 ppm). San Pablo was out of service in 2025. We do not invent a citywide blend.

Chloramine as chlorine 0.7–0.8 ppm on the Walnut Creek, Lafayette, and Orinda columns. Kitchen shopping stays the Cloud RO / Waterdrop path already used on other cities if a listing is why you are looking.

Sources

  1. 2025 Annual Water Quality Report — East Bay Municipal Utility District. Accessed 2026-09-09.

Updated September 9, 2026. A city file is chemistry we can cite plus the sewer rule. No invented detections.