Is CITY OF PALO ALTO's water safe to drink?
CITY OF PALO ALTO has a health-based violation on record, but none in the last five years - an older issue, not necessarily a current one. Population served: 67,231, over 19,949 connections.
CITY OF PALO ALTO's record against the rest of the country
7 total violations and 5 health-based ones put CITY OF PALO ALTO at the 71th percentile nationally for violation burden, rank 3,804 of 12,903.
Against the CA average
Among the 803 CA systems in this dataset, the average is 5.8 health-based violations - CITY OF PALO ALTO's 5 is at or below that. The filter guide explains what a violation like this actually calls for.
Most recent violation on record
CITY OF PALO ALTO's most recent violation on record is dated 2015-01-03, with the most recent health-based one dated 2015-01-03. Last reported to EPA: 06/22/2026.
The concern categories on record
CITY OF PALO ALTO's flagged contaminants and rule violations, grouped by what they actually mean for a filter choice rather than left as EPA's raw code list:
- Microbial contamination / treatment technique - flagged from: Coliform (TCR); Surface Water Treatment Rule
The most severe category on record is microbial contamination / treatment technique, which points toward a microbial-class filter if you want to address it directly.
What CITY OF PALO ALTO's record does not cover
This is what CITY OF PALO ALTO reported to its state primacy agency and EPA under the Safe Drinking Water Act - real regulatory record, not a lab test of your specific tap. This record - 5 health-based violations on file for CITY OF PALO ALTO - stops at the meter and cannot see household plumbing on the other side of it. The guide to what this data misses covers that gap.