PlainWater
Counties → California

Kern County, California

Water Systems
341
Population Served
1,032,343
Total Violations
11,890
6,583 health-based
PFAS Detected
20
of 28 tested

Violation Analysis

92.4%
Systems with Violations
34.9
Avg Violations per System
55.4%
Health-Based Violations

Water Source Types

GW
37 systems (11%)
SW
13 systems (4%)

PFAS Contamination

28
Systems Tested
20
PFAS Detected
71.4%
Detection Rate

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are persistent chemicals found in drinking water. The EPA has set enforceable limits for several PFAS compounds under UCMR5 monitoring.

Compliance Snapshot

Kern California water systems by violation status, EPA SDWIS records.

No violations on record (3) One or more violations (47)

Violation history is cumulative, many flagged systems have already returned to compliance. Detail pages show per-system context.

Water Systems

System Name Population Violations PFAS
Cws - Bakersfield 267,881 12 Detected
Bakersfield, City Of 160,144 9 Detected
Delano, City Of 51,428 83 Clean
Oildale MWC 44,899 24 Clean
Indian Wells Valley W.D. 41,580 44 Clean
Tejon Castac WD - I5 & Laval RD 38,125 26 Clean
Vaughn WC Inc 37,189 14 Detected
East Niles Csd 32,517 47 Clean
Cws - North Garden 22,762 0 Detected
Wasco, City Of 22,757 30 Clean
Shafter, City Of 21,915 39 Clean
West Kern Water District 20,500 6 Clean
Arvin Community Services Dist 19,669 331 Clean
Lamont Public Utility Dist 19,057 128 Clean
Rosamond Csd 17,711 23 Clean
California City, City Of 14,198 37 Clean
McFarland, City Of 14,161 157 Clean
Greenfield County WD 11,590 114 Clean
Edwards Afb - Main Base 11,316 23 Clean
Golden Hills Csd 9,857 13 Detected
Tehachapi, City Of 9,094 24 Clean
China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station 6,600 32 Clean
Bear Valley Csd 5,592 25 Detected
Wasco St. Prison Reception Ctr 5,124 8 Clean
Willow Springs Raceway 5,022 19 -
Kern Valley State Prison 5,000 50 Clean
Famoso Raceway, Smokers Inc. 5,000 16 -
Stallion Springs Csd 4,910 31 Clean
Mojave PUD 4,699 83 Clean
Caltrans-Boron Rest Stop Water System 3,000 30 -
Cci - Tehachapi 2,993 22 Clean
Lerdo Sheriff S Facility 2,800 35 -
Frazier Park PUD 2,592 27 -
Cws - Kernville 2,572 27 -
Kern Valley Airport 2,507 3 -
Erskine Creek WC 2,500 18 -
Lost Hills Utility District 2,370 53 -
Tejon Ranch Grapevine Water 2,207 23 -
Mil Potrero MWC 2,200 28 -
Interstate 5 Utility Company 2,100 35 -
Boron Csd 2,086 116 -
Buttonwillow Tiger Mart 2,006 0 -
Bolthouse Fresh Foods 1,917 16 -
Wp&a - Lost Hills Water System 1,888 19 -
Buttonwillow Cwd 1,508 19 -
Aera Energy-LLC 1,500 16 -
Cal Trans Buttonwillow Sfty Rsra 1,500 26 -
Lebec County Water District 1,379 125 -
Usfs - Old Isabella Auxiliary Dam WS 1,320 0 -
Rio Bravo Greeley School Water System 1,219 73 -

Other Counties in California

Los Angeles County
276 systems · 10,109,089 served · 3,972 violations
San Diego County
197 systems · 3,744,323 served · 4,832 violations
Orange County
46 systems · 3,201,893 served · 507 violations
Riverside County
201 systems · 2,839,125 served · 6,103 violations
San Bernardino County
318 systems · 2,830,626 served · 4,611 violations
Alameda County
27 systems · 2,249,634 served · 275 violations

Drinking Water Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

How many water violations are in Kern County? ▼
Kern County has 11,890 total drinking water violations across 341 water systems, of which 6,583 are health-based violations. 92.4% of systems have at least one violation.
How many people get water from Kern County systems? ▼
Water systems in Kern County serve approximately 1,032,343 people through 341 public water systems.
Has PFAS been detected in Kern County water? ▼
Of 28 water systems tested for PFAS in Kern County, 20 had PFAS detected (71.4% detection rate).
What types of water sources supply Kern County? ▼
Water systems in Kern County use GW (37 systems), SW (13 systems) as their primary water sources.
Are health-based violations serious? ▼
Health-based violations indicate that drinking water exceeded Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) set by the EPA or failed treatment technique requirements. 55.4% of Kern County's violations are health-based. Not all violations indicate immediate health risk, but they require corrective action.
Data Sources & Methodology

Drinking water violation data from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). PFAS testing data from the UCMR5 monitoring program. SDWIS tracks all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Violations are categorized as health-based (Maximum Contaminant Level exceedances, treatment technique failures) or monitoring/reporting violations. Not all violations indicate an immediate health risk.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater Editorial

Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on EPA SDWIS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.