Santa Monica, California
City of Santa Monica 2025 Annual Water Quality Report (2024 data). Hardness prints as four labeled columns — Arcadia plant 106 ppm (92.6–134), SM Well
- Hardness (Arcadia)106 ppm (range 92.6–134)
- Hardness (SM Well582 ppm
- Hardness (Jensen)270 ppm (range 235–305)
- Hardness (Weymouth)272 ppm (range 241–303)
- Chloramines2.00 ppm avg (range ND–3.5)
Best match for Santa Monica
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 catalytic carbon for chloramine
Catalytic carbon with a chloramine claim (NSF/ANSI 42 for chloramine). Regular chlorine carbon is the wrong box.
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 Santa Monica Water Resources Division
- Hardness
- Hardness as CaCO3 — local well water Arcadia plant 106 ppm (range 92.6–134). SM Well — City of Santa Monica 2025 Annual Water Quality Report (2024 data)
- Disinfectant
- Total chlorine/chloramines citywide average 2.00 ppm (range ND–3.5). MRDL 4. Drinking water disinfectant added for treatment. Narrative says final disinfection is chloramine. 2025 report (2024 data). — City of Santa Monica 2025 Annual Water Quality Report (2024 data)
- Brine / salt to the sewer
- Check the sanitation district before installing. No City of Santa Monica residential self-regenerating softener 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
- Other 2024 table numbersThe same 2025 report prints these as labeled local/imported or citywide results, not a blend we invented.TTHMs citywide LRAA 20.9 ppb (range 6.9–50.2). HAA5 citywide LRAA 3.8 ppb (range ND–17.5).2025 Annual Water Quality Report — City of Santa Monica Water Resources Division
Santa Monica drinking water is local Arcadia-plant well water, SM Well #1 blended with imported surface water, and Metropolitan Water District Jensen and Weymouth imported water. No City of Santa Monica residential softener ban like LACSD Measure S turned up. Ask the sewer agency on the bill before you cut a brine drain. This is not a legal opinion and not a statewide ban.
The 2025 report (2024 data) prints hardness as four labeled columns — Arcadia 106 ppm (range 92.6–134), SM Well #1 582 ppm, Jensen 270 ppm (range 235–305), and Weymouth 272 ppm (range 241–303). We do not invent a citywide blend.
Total chlorine/chloramines 2.00 ppm citywide average (range ND–3.5). Kitchen shopping stays the Cloud RO / Waterdrop path already used on other cities if a listing is why you are looking.
Sources
- 2025 Annual Water Quality Report — City of Santa Monica Water Resources Division. Accessed 2026-09-09.
Updated September 9, 2026. A city file is chemistry we can cite plus the sewer rule. No invented detections.