Blythe Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Blythe, California, in Riverside County — a Riverside County city in the Palo Verde Valley on the Colorado River at the California-Arizona border, an agricultural oasis in the lower Colorado Desert — receives its municipal water from the City of Blythe Water Division, drawing directly from the Colorado River at the Blythe-Palo Verde intake in the Colorado River Desert corridor.

The moderately hard 161 mg/L hardness and elevated TDS of 468.1 mg/L reflect the Colorado River at the Palo Verde Valley's Plateau evaporite-carbonate mineral load. The Colorado River at Blythe drains the Colorado Plateau (Grand Canyon reach — Permian Kaibab Formation limestone, Triassic Moenkopi Formation calcareous mudstone), the Permian Basin of southeastern Utah, and the Sonoran Desert (Arizona — Cretaceous and Triassic carbonate and evaporite). The elevated TDS (468 mg/L) at Blythe is higher than at the Havasu intake further upstream, reflecting additional mineral contribution from the lower Colorado River reach irrigation return flows (Yuma-Parker irrigation district — very high-mineral desert soils).

At 161 mg/L, Blythe's water is moderately hard — scale builds in kettles and appliances over months, dishwashers benefit from rinse aid, and faucet aerators need periodic cleaning. Quarterly descaling is appropriate. The PFAS level of 6.4 ppt warrants a certified drinking water filter — the Yuma Proving Ground (US Army — AFFF user in the lower Colorado corridor), the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma (AFFF user), and the Colorado River PFAS agricultural-industrial corridor contribute to Blythe's readings.