PlainWater
Counties → California

San Diego County, California

Water Systems
197
Population Served
3,744,323
Total Violations
4,832
1,612 health-based
PFAS Detected
26
of 26 tested

Violation Analysis

93.9%
Systems with Violations
24.5
Avg Violations per System
33.4%
Health-Based Violations

Water Source Types

SW
26 systems (13%)
GW
24 systems (12%)

PFAS Contamination

26
Systems Tested
26
PFAS Detected
100.0%
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

San Diego California water systems by violation status, EPA SDWIS records.

No violations on record (7) One or more violations (43)

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
San Diego, City Of 1,385,379 33 Clean
Helix Water District 277,668 0 Clean
Otay Water District 238,008 0 Clean
Sweetwater Authority 191,282 15 Detected
Oceanside, City Of 171,483 12 Clean
Escondido, City Of 137,044 2 Clean
Vista Irrigation District 132,430 17 Clean
Vallecitos WD 113,500 2 Clean
Cal-Am Water Coronado 106,000 2 Clean
Carlsbad MWD 95,158 0 Clean
Padre Dam MWD 93,859 4 Detected
Olivenhain MWD 86,458 0 Clean
Poway, City Of 49,888 4 Clean
Camp Pendleton (South) 42,219 40 Detected
San Dieguito WD 40,405 3 Detected
Ramona Municipal WD 37,047 2 Clean
Nas North Island & Nab Coronado 36,990 9 Clean
Pine Valley Border Patrol Station 36,604 3 -
Lakeside WD 35,500 14 Detected
Fallbrook PUD 35,237 1 Clean
Cuyamaca Water District 33,030 25 -
Rincon del Diablo MWD (ID-1) 30,757 7 Detected
Valley Center MWD 29,938 7 Clean
Yoga Center Mother's Kitchen 27,884 41 -
San Diego Mountain Lodge 26,641 16 -
Dhs Border Patrol Hwy 94 Checkpoint 25,083 39 -
Auerbach Farms 25,068 0 -
Rainbow Municipal WD 23,536 14 Clean
Santa Fe I.D. 21,578 1 Detected
Dhs Boulevard Border Patrol 20,270 3 -
South Bay Rod & Gun Club Inc. 18,900 55 -
Palomar Christian Conference Center 13,050 16 -
Indian Hills Camp 13,032 25 -
Camp Pendleton (North) 12,651 21 -
Lake Henshaw Resort Inc. 9,913 30 -
Palomar Observatory 4,416 21 -
Mataguay Scout Reservation 4,000 35 -
Warner Springs Ranch Resort LLC 3,972 40 -
Del Mar, City Of 3,919 10 Clean
Bandy Canyon Ranch Corp 3,564 0 -
Borrego WD 3,429 12 Clean
Rincon del Diablo MWD (ID-A) 3,275 2 -
Naval Medical Center San Diego 2,981 0 -
Pine Valley Mutual WC 2,645 21 -
Schoepe Scout Reservation at Lost Valley 2,500 41 -
Majestic Pines Community SD 1,768 13 -
Julian Community Services District 1,517 175 -
Mountain Empire High School 1,000 10 -
DE Anza Springs Resort 1,000 32 -
Rancho Pauma Mutual WC 899 26 -

Other Counties in California

Los Angeles County
276 systems · 10,109,089 served · 3,972 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
Santa Clara County
119 systems · 2,097,044 served · 2,640 violations

Drinking Water Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

How many water violations are in San Diego County? ▼
San Diego County has 4,832 total drinking water violations across 197 water systems, of which 1,612 are health-based violations. 93.9% of systems have at least one violation.
How many people get water from San Diego County systems? ▼
Water systems in San Diego County serve approximately 3,744,323 people through 197 public water systems.
Has PFAS been detected in San Diego County water? ▼
Of 26 water systems tested for PFAS in San Diego County, 26 had PFAS detected (100.0% detection rate).
What types of water sources supply San Diego County? ▼
Water systems in San Diego County use SW (26 systems), GW (24 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. 33.4% of San Diego 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.