Commercial Water Treatment in Oakland & San Leandro, CA
East Bay water is some of the softest in California. That sounds like good news for cooling towers and boilers, and for scale it is. But very soft, low-mineral water can be aggressive toward steel and copper, and the hardness you get can change when EBMUD shifts which plant serves you. Hydrovida helps Oakland and San Leandro buildings, hospitals, manufacturers and warehouses control corrosion, cut water use and stay inspection-ready.
What you get
- An on-site look at your towers, boilers and water systems
- A written report with what we found
- Savings estimates you can take to your team
Get your free water analysis
No cost, no obligation. We’ll follow up to set up your on-site water analysis.
What's in East Bay water
EBMUD gets about 90% of its water from the Mokelumne River watershed in the Sierra Nevada. It travels about 90 miles by aqueduct from Pardee Reservoir to East Bay treatment plants, and some of it blends with local runoff in East Bay reservoirs first. In dry years EBMUD can add other sources, such as the Sacramento River.
Hardness depends on which plant serves you. EBMUD's 2025 water quality report lists hardness of roughly 14 to 40 ppm from the Walnut Creek, Lafayette and Orinda plants, 64 to 98 ppm from Sobrante, and 140 to 160 ppm from Upper San Leandro, the plant that normally serves south Oakland and San Leandro. EBMUD also notes it adjusts operations seasonally and blends sources. So a building in San Leandro can go from hard water to very soft water and back, depending on which plant is running.
Soft water lets you run more cycles in a cooling tower, but it needs a corrosion program built for it. Chloramine disinfection also matters if you run RO.
Who we work with here
Oakland and San Leandro mix government and office towers downtown, hospitals and medical centers, port and logistics warehouses, food and beverage plants and manufacturers along the I-880 corridor. High-rises and hospitals run cooling towers, chillers, boilers and closed loops. Plants run process cooling and boilers. Every tower needs a Legionella plan.
How Hydrovida fixes it
We test your makeup water, then set inhibitor and cycles for soft East Bay water, with corrosion protection for steel and copper and controllers that follow real conductivity as the source changes. For closed loops, we stop the corrosion that leads to rusty water, failing pumps and fouled heat exchangers. For boilers, we protect tubes and cut fuel and blowdown. We write and maintain ASHRAE 188 water management plans and run routine Legionella testing.
Our chemistry is made by Hydrovida, with NSF/ANSI/CAN 60 certified chemistry options available.
EBMUD customized rebates
EBMUD offers a customized rebate to business, manufacturing, government and nonprofit customers for water-saving equipment. Projects must save at least 100 CCF (74,800 gallons) a year, be approved before installation, and have a payback of two years or more. EBMUD calculates the rebate at $1 per CCF of estimated savings, and it can't exceed half the cost of the measure. Routine maintenance doesn't qualify. EBMUD's own guidance recommends conductivity and pH controllers and makeup and blowdown meters for cooling towers. Terms can change, so we'll help you confirm eligibility before you buy.
What you can expect
Across 120+ facilities, Hydrovida customers average a 30% reduction in water use and $36K a year in savings. Eight in 10 facilities we analyze find savings, and we've never lost a customer because of performance. Start with a free water analysis.
What we do in Oakland & San Leandro
Cooling Towers & HVAC
Run more cycles, buy less water.
Closed Loop Systems
Stop rusty water and failing pumps.
Boilers & Steam
Protect tubes and cut fuel.
Legionella Risk Management
ASHRAE 188 water management plans and testing.
Controllers & Remote Monitoring
Catch problems the day they start.
RO & Water Purification
Keep membranes running longer.
- 120+
- Facilities served
- $36K
- Average yearly savings per customer
- 30%
- Average water reduction
- 0
- Customers lost to performance
Averages across Hydrovida customers.
Questions
Is East Bay water hard or soft?
Mostly soft. EBMUD's 2025 report shows about 14 to 40 ppm from its Walnut Creek, Lafayette and Orinda plants, and up to 140 to 160 ppm from Upper San Leandro, depending on which plant serves you.
Why does soft water need special treatment?
Low-mineral water scales less but can corrode steel and copper. Your program has to control corrosion, not just scale.
Does EBMUD offer a rebate for cooling tower upgrades?
EBMUD offers a customized rebate for proven water-saving equipment: $1 per CCF of estimated savings, pre-approved, at least 100 CCF a year, up to half the cost.
Is Hayward on EBMUD?
No. The City of Hayward buys its water from the SFPUC, so EBMUD programs don't apply there. We can help Hayward facilities too.
What does a free water analysis include?
We test your makeup and system water, review your treatment, softeners, cycles and water bills, and show where you can save water, energy and chemicals. There is no cost and no obligation, and nothing changes until you agree.