LA · $50 · 48-hour shipping
Microplastic test kit for Los Angeles.
LADWP doesn't test for microplastics. Neither does the EPA (yet), the FDA, or the brand of bottled water sitting in your car. As of 2026, the only way to know how much plastic is in the water coming out of your specific Echo Park faucet, your Pacific Palisades fridge dispenser, or the corner-store bottle you grab in Koreatown is to run the test yourself. The microplastic test kit ships to LA in 48 hours and includes two tests for $50.
Why LA water is interesting to test
About 86% of Los Angeles's water is imported — the State Water Project, the Colorado River Aqueduct, the Owens Valley via the LA Aqueduct. Surface-fed water carries more background microplastic than groundwater systems on average, and the long aqueducts pass through hundreds of miles of infrastructure with plastic gaskets, PVC liners, and rubber seals before reaching the treatment plant.
The bigger source for most LA homes, though, is the last mile. The 2010s saw a wave of PEX repipes in older neighborhoods after copper pipe theft, and PEX sheds measurable particles over years of use — especially on the hot-water side. A Mid-City apartment built in 1925 with copper plumbing tests different than a 2015 ADU on PEX behind it.
Then there's the bottled-water layer. LA leans heavily on bottled (drought messaging, car culture, gym life), and bottled-water particle counts are dominated by what sheds off the PET bottle — much worse when the bottle has spent hours in a 120°F car. We've documented this in our SmartWater bottle-in-a-car teardown.
What we've tested across LA
The at-home kit has been running across LA neighborhoods since spring 2026. A few specific writeups:
- Microplastics in Los Angeles tap water — Echo Park, Silver Lake, Highland Park, Venice, Koreatown, Pacific Palisades →
- Microplastics in SmartWater — bottle that sat in a car for a year →
- Microplastics in Aquafina water →
- Microplastics from PEX pipes — the LA repipe wave →
For neighborhood-level data across LA, including the interactive map of every sample we've run, see thewatermap.com. The map is the data side of this project; the kit is the tool that built it.
What to test, if you live in LA
Cold tap, morning, kitchen. Your highest-particle sample. Overnight stagnation pulls the most off your indoor plumbing.
Your filter output. Brita, fridge dispenser, under-sink RO — pour 100 mL of the output into the kit's cup. The delta vs your tap is the filter's real microplastic removal. Most filters haven't been independently tested for this in LA water specifically.
Your favorite bottled brand. Compare a fresh bottle to one that's been in your car for a day. The temperature delta in LA is enough to materially change the count.
FAQ
Does LADWP test for microplastics?
No. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's annual Water Quality Report covers the contaminants required by the EPA — lead, copper, disinfection byproducts, microbiology, total dissolved solids. Microplastics are not on the federal required-monitoring list as of 2026. The EPA added them to Contaminant Candidate List 6 in April 2026, which begins a multi-year regulatory process; LADWP is not currently sampling for them. If you want a count from your specific faucet, you have to run the test yourself.
Where does LA tap water come from, and does it matter for microplastics?
About 86% of LA's water is imported — the State Water Project from Northern California, the Colorado River Aqueduct, and the Owens Valley via the LA Aqueduct. Surface-fed systems carry more background microplastic than groundwater on average (atmospheric deposition, runoff). Treatment removes some but not all. The bigger contributor for most LA homes, though, is the indoor plumbing — especially post-2005 new builds and recent repipes using PEX, which sheds over time.
Which LA neighborhoods test highest?
We've sampled across Echo Park, Silver Lake, Highland Park, Venice, Koreatown, and Pacific Palisades since spring 2026. The pattern isn't strictly geographic — particle counts track plumbing age and material more than zip code. Apartments with PEX risers (common in the 2010s wave of repipes) tend to test denser than older buildings with copper. Detailed neighborhood results live on the LA neighborhood map at thewatermap.com.
Should I test my filter or my tap first?
Test both — that's what the two tests in the kit are for. Most people are surprised by the comparison. The honest question is whether your filter (Brita, fridge cartridge, reverse osmosis under-sink) actually moves the count. Manufacturer pages rarely make microplastic-specific claims; the only way to know is the A/B.
Does bottled water from LA stores have microplastics?
Yes — and often more than the tap. Most bottled water in LA stores has been trucked across the desert (Aquafina from Phoenix-area bottling, SmartWater regional, plus the local SoCal brands), and the PET bottle sheds more particles the longer and hotter it sits. We've tested a SmartWater bottle that lived in a car for a year and the filter came back so dense it was hard to count individual particles. Cars in LA hit 120°F+ in summer; bottled water that sat in one is the most particle-dense sample we've measured.
How does the kit get to me in LA?
Free USPS shipping, typically 2–3 days from order. The Water Test is based in LA, so most LA orders arrive within 48 hours.