When considering volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like 1,1-dichloroethane or HCFC-22 in your home water, it is important to understand what the available government data from Sacramento Suburban Water District can and cannot tell you. While public water system records provide valuable information on VOC occurrence, they do not specify exact levels in your household water. The system serves nearly 195,000 people with surface water sources and has no recorded EPA health-based violations related to VOCs.
If a Laboratory Reports a VOC as “Not Detected”
Testing for VOCs involves methods with specific detection limits, meaning a compound reported as "not detected" is below the method's ability to measure, not necessarily absent. For example, chloromethane and bromomethane were never detected above their respective reporting levels in the Sacramento Suburban Water District records. This indicates these compounds, if present in tap water, are at extremely low concentrations, below 0.2 micrograms per liter (µg/L), or parts per billion (ppb).
If You Compare Public-Water Records to Private Well Testing
Records from the public water system reflect samples taken at supply or distribution points serving thousands of connections, providing a general profile of water quality. In contrast, private well testing measures conditions specific to a single property’s source, which can vary significantly from the public system. Sacramento’s surface water supplies show a few detections of VOCs such as 1,1-dichloroethane at up to 0.038 µg/L (ppb) and HCFC-22 up to 15.0 µg/L (ppb), but these concentrations do not represent a direct measure of your home's water.
If You Consider How Granular Activated Carbon Filters Are Designed
Filters targeting VOCs rely on granular activated carbon (GAC) beds whose effectiveness depends largely on contact time between the water and the carbon, rather than flow rate alone. This ensures that volatile organics—organic chemicals that easily vaporize—have enough exposure to be adsorbed effectively, reducing their concentration in household water. The Fleck VOCs & Industrial Chemicals Filter ships ready to configure with an optimally sized GAC bed, designed to handle typical residential flow while addressing solvent compounds found in Sacramento water.
If You Note the Difference Between Aesthetic Secondary Standards and Health-Based Limits
Some VOCs are monitored against aesthetic secondary standards, which guide taste, odor, and staining potential, not health risks. The Sacramento system shows no VOC levels exceeding any federal maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), which are health-based limits. Though compounds like 1,1-dichloroethane and HCFC-22 appear in monitoring results, their numbers remain well below health-based concerns according to EPA records. This distinction helps understand that detection does not imply a safety violation.
If You Understand How Different Sources Affect Groundwater VOC Signatures
Sources of VOC contamination differ: gasoline releases often contain MTBE and related hydrocarbons, while dry-cleaning solvents may include chlorinated compounds like 1,1-dichloroethane. Sacramento’s public system monitoring found no MTBE above detection limits but some chlorinated solvents at trace levels. Knowing the sources helps interpret the patterns in water data and decide if targeted filtration is appropriate for your household water needs.
This page guides the decision path from understanding public water system VOC data, through method detection limits, to the practical role of granular activated carbon filtration. For Sacramento households concerned about volatile organic compounds, testing your own water and considering a Fleck VOCs & Industrial Chemicals Filter can provide informed control over solvent compounds.
Where this information comes from
Source: EPA SDWIS public water system record. Sampled 2015-08-19. These figures describe the public water system's record, not the plumbing inside any individual building.
On record: EPA UCMR3 monitoring (2013-2015) for Sacramento Suburban Water District (CA3410001), CA: 758 results across 7 listed contaminants, 6 detections above the reporting level; no federal MCL for these UCMR-listed VOCs
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