Is San Diego Tap Water Safe To Drink in 2025?

To put it simply: Yes, San Diego tap water is generally safe to drink, but there are important caveats and ongoing concerns. While the city’s water meets federal and state safety standards, recent events and ongoing issues highlight the need for vigilance and proactive water treatment in your home.

Everyone deserves clean, safe, drinkable water. Let’s explore what’s in San Diego’s tap water in 2025, what’s changed in the past year, and what you can do to ensure your water is as safe and healthy as possible.

Wildfires & Water Quality:
The 2024 wildfire season was one of the most severe in recent memory, with the Cleveland National Forest and surrounding areas experiencing significant burns. Runoff from these burn scars has increased ash, sediment, and organic contaminants in some of San Diego’s water sources. While water treatment plants have adapted, there have been periodic advisories-especially after heavy rains-warning residents of possible taste and odor changes, and in rare cases, boil water notices for specific neighborhoods.

Drought & Water Sources:
Ongoing drought conditions throughout the past 3 years have pushed San Diego to rely more on imported water and desalination. This shift has not compromised safety but has led to changes in water taste and mineral content, which some residents have noticed.

New Regulations:
In January 2025, California enacted stricter standards for PFAS (“forever chemicals”), requiring utilities to test and report PFAS levels quarterly. San Diego’s most recent reports show PFAS levels below the new state limits, but trace amounts are still present.

It is important to regularly test your water to identify contaminants and take the proper steps to get them removed. Culligan is proud to offer FREE water tests to help get you started on your journey to cleaner, safer water.

The EWG reports the following contaminants and how much they exceed their guidelines by parts per billion:

While the following contaminants do not exceed EWG guidelines, they are still present in San Diego’s tap water:

Depending on the contaminant and the level of exposure, these contaminants can affect San Diego residents in many ways. The short-term effects range from skin irritation and nausea to vomiting and diarrhea. The long-term effects can lead to much more serious concerns such as organ damage and cancer. While these contaminants are not “good” for anyone, they are even more harmful to infants, children, and pregnant women.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) can enter tap water systems through various pathways, primarily due to contamination of the water sources or inadequate water treatment processes. Common entry points include surface water, such as rivers and lakes, where E. coli can infiltrate through fecal contamination from wildlife, agricultural runoff, or sewage discharges. Groundwater can also be affected through the infiltration of contaminated surface water or from septic systems, leaking sewer pipes, and agricultural activities.

Sewage and wastewater overflows pose another risk, as malfunctions in treatment plants or system overflows can introduce E. coli into water supplies. Inadequate water treatment is a significant factor, where insufficient or ineffective treatment processes may fail to remove or kill bacteria like E. coli. This can occur if treatment facilities are not properly maintained or if they lack adequate disinfection methods.

No major E. coli outbreaks have been reported in 2024 or 2025 thus far, but the risk remains-especially after wildfires and heavy storms. The city has increased monitoring and rapid response protocols.

You can check your water quality report to view what contaminants are in your water and their levels. Regular water testing can help ensure your family’s safety against these harmful contaminants by seeing exactly what is in your water.

It is common to assume that if your tap water is not safe to drink, bottled water is the next best option. Drinking bottled water carries its list of concerns.

Environmental Impact: A single water bottle takes 450 years to decompose, making them a large contributor to plastic pollution. Bottled water requires a significant amount of energy to produce and transport, contributing to greenhouse gases.

Health and Quality Concerns: It is common to see bottled water marketed as a “safer” or “better tasting” alternative to tap water. Chemicals and contaminants are what you are trying to avoid by drinking bottled water; however, upon closer inspection of some labels, you may find that they contain contaminants such as microplastics and other chemicals.

Cost of Bottled Water: Bottled water is around 3,000 percent more expensive per gallon than tap water. Bottled water costs an average of $0.64 per gallon, while tap water costs $0.02 per gallon. While there are circumstances where bottled water may be the best choice for drinking water, there are significant environmental, health, and economic concerns associated with its use. It is often better to use a reusable bottle filled with filtered water.

There are a few ways to filter and treat your tap water to ensure it is safe for consumption. The first step to safer water is to schedule a free water test to identify exactly what contaminants are in your home’s tap water. Once the contaminants are identified, your Culligan Man will recommend the right system for your water.

Having safe drinking water is something every household needs. By scheduling a free at-home water test with Culligan, you can receive a detailed report of all the contaminants in your home’s tap water and a recommendation for solutions. You will have safer, drinkable tap water before you know it!