Drink Tap Water

Our city’s drinking water is rigorously tested, safe, delicious, and inexpensive. Choose tap over bottled water at home and on the go with our free outdoor water bottle refilling stations throughout the city.

Our Water Sources

Our water system is fortunate to have some of the best water in the U.S. Our major water source is the well-protected Tuolumne Watershed, where spring snowmelt flows down the Tuolumne River to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. We blend this water with water from local Bay Area sources, including surface reservoirs in Alameda and San Mateo Counties and groundwater pumped from the Westside Basin Aquifer.

How Is Our Tap Water Different from Bottled Water?

Unlike bottled water, our delicious tap water costs less than half a penny per gallon, is quality tested more than 100,000 times a year, and goes straight to your tap. In fact, tap water is also highly regulated by the EPA and meets or exceeds state and local water quality standards.

Fill Your Water Bottle at Our Free Tap Stations

Since 2010, we have installed many lead-free outdoor water bottle refilling stations ("tap stations") around our city to provide everyone with free access to high quality tap water while on the go. Our tap stations enable you to reuse your own container rather than purchase single-use bottled water. This encourages conserving our natural resources and reduces waste from single-use plastic water bottles.

The next time you are out and about in the City, remember to bring your reusable container and refill your bottle at any of our tap stations. See our searchable map below.
(Red dots indicate taps located in schools; blue dots indicate taps in the public realm.)