Rancho Cordova, CA tap water
Supplied mostly by Golden State Water Co. - Cordova, plus 3 other utilities. Here's what the water means for your fish.
Disinfectant
Chlorine
Your water is treated with chlorine. It slowly gases off from standing water, and any water conditioner removes it.
Safety for fish and shrimp
Nitrite (NO₂)
Not detected (Low)
Not detected in testing, so any nitrite in your tank comes from the tank itself.
From California Water Board lab results (2024–2026).
Nitrate (NO₃)
Up to 12 ppm (Low)
Typical 3.1 ppm
Low, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.
From California Water Board lab results; Sacramento County Water Agency (SCWA)'s 2025 water quality report (2023–2026).
Copper at home taps
Up to 0.12 ppm (Low)
Typical 0.06 ppm
Low. Water that sits in household pipes overnight can carry more than this.
From California Water Board lab results; Sacramento County Water Agency (SCWA)'s 2025 water quality report (2024–2025).
Chlorine or chloramine at the tap
0.1–2 ppm
Typical 1.3 ppm
At tap levels, chlorine and chloramine are toxic to fish, shrimp and the bacteria in a filter. Water conditioners are made for this range.
Published by your utility: Sacramento County Water Agency (SCWA)'s 2025 water quality report.
Water chemistry
General hardness
Estimate9–160 ppm
Typical 53 ppm
Soft. Good for tetras, rasboras and most shrimp. Livebearers, snails and African cichlids prefer harder water.
Estimated from Golden State Water Co. - Cordova's calcium and magnesium readings; California Water Board lab results; Sacramento County Water Agency (SCWA)'s 2025 water quality report (2023–2025).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
29–190 ppm
Typical 59 ppm
Moderate buffering. pH should stay fairly steady.
From California Water Board lab results; Sacramento County Water Agency (SCWA)'s 2025 water quality report (2023–2026).
pH
7–8.3
Typical 7.7
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
From EPA monitoring data; California Water Board lab results; Sacramento County Water Agency (SCWA)'s 2025 water quality report (2012–2025).
Total dissolved solids
Estimate91–390 ppm
Typical 100 ppm
A rough measure of everything dissolved in the water. RO water reads near 0, so TDS is a quick way to compare waters.
Estimated from Golden State Water Co. - Cordova's conductivity readings; California Water Board lab results; Sacramento County Water Agency (SCWA)'s 2025 water quality report (2023–2025).
Who supplies Rancho Cordova, CA
Golden State Water Co. - Cordova
Serves 48% of residents · Lake or river water · Chlorine
Cal Am - Suburban Rosemont
Serves 29% of residents · Buys water from Scwa Mather-Sunrise · Chlorine
- 2025 water quality report
Sacramento County Water Agency (SCWA)
Serves 10% of residents · Lake or river water · Chlorine
Scwa Mather-Sunrise
Serves 10% of residents · Buys water from Scwa - Laguna/Vineyard · Chlorine
Our data comes from public records and is still incomplete. Many utilities don't publish every number, so we're adding more all the time. Your city's range is a starting point: testing your own tap is the only way to know exactly what's in it.
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Compiled by Shoal & Stem from public records. Free to cite with a link.