Pico Rivera, CA water hardness

Tap water hardness
45mg/L
2.6gpg
Soft

Reported by San Gabriel Valley Water CO.-El Monte · July 2025

CA typical
121 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Data
Utility report

The water in Pico Rivera carries roughly 45 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 2.6 grains per gallon. That is soft water. The number comes from San Gabriel Valley Water CO.-El Monte, dated July 2025.

Pico Rivera on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+CA typical 121South San Gabriel: 34 mg/LSouth San Gabriel 34South El Monte: 34 mg/LSouth El Monte 34Rosemead: 46 mg/LRosemead 46Santa Fe Springs: 61 mg/LSanta Fe Springs 61West Whittier-Los Nietos: 75 mg/LWest Whittier-Los Nietos 75Commerce: 75 mg/LCommerce 75East Los Angeles: 123 mg/LEast Los Angeles 123Bell Gardens: 171 mg/LBell Gardens 171South Whittier: 174 mg/LSouth Whittier 174Downey: 247 mg/LDowney 247Pico Rivera 45mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+CA 121South San Gabriel: 34 mg/LSouth San. 34Santa Fe Springs: 61 mg/LSanta Fe S. 61West Whittier-Los Nietos: 75 mg/LWest Whitt. 75Commerce: 75 mg/LCommerce 75Bell Gardens: 171 mg/LBell Garde. 171Downey: 247 mg/LDowney 24745 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

At 45 mg/L, Pico Rivera is 76 mg/L below the typical California figure of 121. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 2 have softer water and 8 have harder. The range nearby runs from 34 mg/L in South San Gabriel to 247 in Downey.

What 45 mg/L means at home

Soap and shampoo lather with very little product. Kettles and showerheads stay mostly free of white crust.

Some people notice that soap feels slow to rinse off in soft water. That slippery feel is normal and harmless.

Hardness is not a health problem, and EPA sets no limit for it. It is a matter of scale and soap.

What to do about it

Nothing, as far as hardness goes. At 45 mg/L a softener would have almost nothing to remove.

Carbon filter

If the water tastes of chlorine, a pitcher or faucet carbon filter takes care of that. It does not change hardness.

EPA record for Pico Rivera's water system

Pico Rivera - City, Water Dept. · PWSID CA1910042

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 39,451 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
3
Open now
0

EPA lists Pico Rivera - City, Water Dept. as the system serving Pico Rivera. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Pico Rivera.

Health-based means a contaminant above its legal limit or a missed treatment step. Monitoring and reporting violations are late or missing tests and notices. Source: EPA ECHO, 2026Q3 export, violations with periods starting 2016 or later. Full EPA record.

Questions

Is Pico Rivera water hard?

No. It measures about 45 mg/L (2.6 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

What is the water hardness in Pico Rivera in grains per gallon?

About 2.6 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 45 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.6.

Has the Pico Rivera water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Pico Rivera - City, Water Dept. since 2016. There were also 3 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 515 cities in California

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, July 1, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.