Imperial, CA
A PlainEnviro-computed score from reported facility/violation counts, not an official EPA rating, health forecast, or population-adjusted rate. See methodology.
Environmental data for Imperial in California · Population: 179,319
Imperial, CA is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 5 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 25 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 39/100 (Moderate Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.
Industrial disclosures inside the county total 1.4M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 21 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 63 and a peak AQI of 341 in 2024, with 23% of observed days rated "Good" (0–50).
All figures below draw directly from federal EPA records, TRI self-reported emissions, SDWIS compliance history, NPL Hazard Ranking System scores, and AQS daily AQI summaries, and are not adjusted, weighted, or forecast. A past violation or elevated score does not itself indicate current unsafe conditions; it documents the regulatory and disclosure history publicly filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the most recent reporting cycle.
Air Quality History (2020–2024)
EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.
| Year | Good | Moderate | Unhealthy (SG) | Max AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 83 (23%) | 233 | 42 | 341 |
| 2023 | 104 (28%) | 214 | 37 | 506 |
| 2022 | 86 (24%) | 232 | 34 | 791 |
| 2021 | 84 (23%) | 252 | 22 | 436 |
| 2020 | 94 (26%) | 244 | 26 | 166 |
Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)
For real-time air quality readings and pollutant breakdowns in California, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.
Water Systems (25)
| System | Population | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| EL CENTRO, CITY OF | 43,772 | 0 |
| CALEXICO, CITY OF | 40,357 | 2 |
| BRAWLEY, CITY OF | 26,862 | 0 |
| IMPERIAL, CITY OF | 21,591 | 29 |
| HEBER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT | 6,979 | 7 |
| HOLTVILLE, CITY OF | 6,355 | 28 |
| CALIPATRIA STATE PRISON | 4,800 | 1 |
| CENTINELA STATE PRISON | 4,100 | 31 |
| WESTMORLAND, CITY OF | 2,202 | 8 |
| GATEWAY | 1,800 | 7 |
| SEELEY CWD | 1,729 | 69 |
| SUNBEAM LAKE RV RESORT | 650 | 4 |
| NAF EL CENTRO | 637 | 0 |
| COUNTRY LIFE MH & RV PARK | 600 | 1 |
| PALO VERDE COUNTY WATER DIST. | 410 | 5 |
| WINTERHAVEN COUNTY WATER DISTRICT | 394 | 1 |
| MITCHELLS CAMP FAMILY ASSOC. | 175 | 3 |
| OCOTILLO MUTUAL WATER CO | 150 | 1 |
| RIO BEND RV GOLF RESORT & STORM CROSSING | 130 | 5 |
| COYOTE VALLEY MUTUAL WATER CO | 125 | 1 |
| VALLEY MOBILE HOME PARK | 70 | 3 |
| GOLD ROCK RANCH | 40 | 2 |
| IID VILLAGE | 37 | 2 |
| UC DESERT RESEARCH AND EXTENSION CENTER | 30 | 83 |
| JACKSON HIDE-A-WAY | 25 | 0 |
TRI Facilities (5)
| # | Facility | Total Releases |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spreckels Sugar Co Inc. | 589.6K lbs |
| 2 | U.S. Marine Corps Chocolate Mountains Aerial Gunnery Range | 585.2K lbs |
| 3 | US Navy Naval Air Facility el Centro | 156.1K lbs |
| 4 | Mesquite Mine | 113.3K lbs |
| 5 | US Gypsum Co | 884 lbs |
Cities in Imperial (3)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the environmental risk level in Imperial, California? ▼
Are there Superfund sites in Imperial? ▼
How many toxic release facilities are in Imperial? ▼
What is the air quality in Imperial? ▼
Is the drinking water safe in Imperial? ▼
What environmental agencies cover Imperial? ▼
What does this county environmental profile show?
This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.