Merced, California

Water Quality in Merced, California

Watershed: North River – Frontal Massachusetts Bay

What is the water quality like in Merced, CA?

Let’s dive deeper into what’s in Merced water.

What’s in Merced water?

Here are the top 5 chemical compounds in your water and what health issues they can potentially cause:

1. Arsenic – Potential effect: Cancer
2. Hexavalent Chromium – Potential effect: Cancer
3. Radium – Potential effect: Cancer
4. Total trihalomethanes – Potential effect: Cancer
5. Uranium – Potential effect: Cancer

These are five of the 25 contaminants analyzed by the Environmental Working Group (ewg.org).

7 of these contaminants are rated as exceeding EWG Health Guidelines.

See the What Can You Do? section below for all of the contaminants you can filter out and how to do it.

Where does Merced’s water come from?

Merced’s water comes from the North River – Frontal Massachusetts Bay watershed.

There are no EPA assessed water sources in the North River – Frontal Massachusetts Bay watershed.

Ideally, a water source would be Known, Assessed, and rated in Good condition.

Whether a water source is in Impaired or Good condition refers to the quality of these uses:

1. Drinking Water
2. Aquatic Life
3. Fish and Shellfish Consumption
4. Recreation

Learn more from How’s My Waterway

See below for what you can do to improve Merced’s water.

Conclusion – What Can You Do?

Information about water quality can be surprising.

But there’s no reason to lose hope. There are things you can do in your household as well as things you can do at a community level.

In Your Household:

• Use Berkey filters with activated carbon to filter out 20 of the 25 contaminants in your drinking water. (Berkey Light and Travel Berkey are the only types available in California.)
  • Berkey filters can also remove up to 99.99% of Lead in Merced water.
  • Brita can filter 8 (and Lead depending on the filter).
  • Note: We may receive a commission if you decide to purchase filters through links on this page.
• To filter out 21 of the 25 contaminants, consider a Reverse Osmosis water filtration system for your house.
  • These are more expensive than pitchers to purchase, but can be more effective.
  • They have the benefit of filtering out heavy hitters like:
    • 1,4-Dioxane
    • Aluminum
    • Arsenic – health risks
    • Barium – health risks in water
    • Bromodichloromethane – health risks in drinking water
    • Bromoform
    • Chloroform – side effects
    • Chloromethane
    • Chromium (total)
    • Dibromochloromethane
    • Fluoride
    • Hexavalent chromium – health effects
    • Molybdenum
    • Nitrate
    • Nitrite
    • Radium
    • Strontium
    • Total trihalomethanes – byproduct of chlorination*
    • Trichloroethylene
    • Uranium

*Chlorination is an effective method of disinfecting/treating drinking water. You can then use a water filter to reduce the effects of chlorination byproducts to get the safest, cleanest water possible.

In Your Community:

Contact your local government officials and put pressure on them to invest in cleaner waterways and upgraded city water filtration and treatment.

Go to: http://www.co.merced.ca.us/ to find contact information for your local officials.

Water Quality in Other California Cities

California Water Quality Page