Is Oakland Tap Water Safe? What East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD)’s EPA Records Show
East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), which serves about 1,442,800 people in Oakland, Berkeley, and much of the East Bay, reported PFAS detections in the EPA’s UCMR5 monitoring (2023-2025), all below the current EPA limits. Occurrence data, not a compliance finding. Its most recent EPA-record lead 90th-percentile was non-detect (below the reporting limit) — under the current 15 ppb action level. The system has 2 health-based violations on its federal SDWA record.
See the full interactive report for this system — every PFAS analyte, lead and copper rounds, violations, and the filter that handles what was found: open the Oakland report → Or check YOUR exact ZIP: check your water by ZIP →
Common questions about Oakland water
Is Oakland's tap water safe to drink?
Nothing in these records is above a current EPA limit, but there is something worth watching — a detection below the limit, an older exceedance, or a violation on record. See the card above. These are system-level records for public water systems, not a reading of any individual home’s tap, and they do not cover private wells. Confirm your own utility’s current Consumer Confidence Report, and test your tap if you’re unsure.
Does Oakland have PFAS in its drinking water?
East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) reported PFAS detections below current EPA limits in UCMR5 monitoring.
Who supplies Oakland's drinking water?
East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) (PWSID CA0110005) serves about 1,442,800 people in Oakland, Berkeley, and much of the East Bay, per EPA SDWIS records. A metro area is usually served by more than one water system — this page covers the area’s largest. Suburbs and neighboring towns often have their own systems with their own results; check your exact ZIP for yours.
How do I check my exact address?
Water systems report by system, not by address. Enter your ZIP on the water checker to see the system(s) serving it and what each reported.
Statewide, 18.7% of California’s UCMR5-tested systems reported PFOA or PFOS over the EPA limit — see the California water page.
Other large systems in California
Los Angeles San Diego San Jose San Francisco western Riverside County (Moreno Valley, Hemet, Perris), California
See the 100 largest US water systems, water quality by state, and the national PFAS data study.
Sources: EPA UCMR5 occurrence data, Feb 2026 release (~95% complete; final reporting 2026) (2026-06); lead/copper + violations: EPA SDWIS via ECHO; population served: EPA SDWIS via ECHO (system-reported population served). PWSID CA0110005. Public-domain federal/state records; assembly by WaterByTheBook. Built 2026-07-25. Plain-markdown mirror: https://waterbythebook.com/md/oakland.md