PlainWater
Counties → California

Santa Cruz County, California

Water Systems
96
Population Served
274,174
Total Violations
2,563
844 health-based
PFAS Detected
7
of 8 tested

Violation Analysis

93.8%
Systems with Violations
26.7
Avg Violations per System
32.9%
Health-Based Violations

Water Source Types

GW
34 systems (35%)
SW
16 systems (17%)

PFAS Contamination

8
Systems Tested
7
PFAS Detected
87.5%
Detection Rate

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are persistent chemicals found in drinking water. The EPA has set enforceable limits for several PFAS compounds under UCMR5 monitoring.

Compliance Snapshot

Santa Cruz California water systems by violation status, EPA SDWIS records.

No violations on record (1) One or more violations (49)

Violation history is cumulative, many flagged systems have already returned to compliance. Detail pages show per-system context.

Water Systems

System Name Population Violations PFAS
Santa Cruz Water Department 94,626 15 Clean
Watsonville, City Of 65,231 2 Detected
Soquel Creek Water District 40,809 4 Clean
San Lorenzo Valley Water Dist 21,145 20 Detected
Cabrillo College 12,000 7 Clean
Scotts Valley Water District 11,197 21 Detected
Slvwd - Felton Water System 4,340 19 Clean
Central Water District 2,726 8 -
Aptos High School 1,348 14 -
Mission Springs Conference Center 1,310 35 -
Mt. Hermon Association, Inc. 1,176 7 -
Csp- Kirkwood Entrance 1,154 0 -
Big Basin Water Company 1,120 102 -
Forest Lakes MWC 1,067 38 -
Monte Vista Christian School 1,051 19 -
Alianza Charter School/Wcsa 670 17 -
Csp - Rancho del Oso 669 20 -
Trout Gulch Mutual Water Company 614 23 Clean
Seventh Day Adventist Camp 578 12 -
Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds 550 14 -
Mystery Spot Snack Shack 500 6 -
Summit West Mutual Water Co. 481 41 -
Buena Vista Migrant Center 455 18 -
Villa del Monte MWC 419 30 -
Las Cumbres Mutual Water Co 402 249 -
Monterey Bay Academy 400 22 -
Forest Springs 385 267 -
San Andreas Mutual Water Co 378 4 -
Davenport County Sanitation 350 27 -
Boulder Creek Scout Reserv. 302 13 -
Mountain Elementary School 240 11 -
Kennolyn Camp 239 26 -
Rountree Facility(prev. Sheriff's Rehab) 235 21 -
Mountain Summit Mutual Water System 223 16 -
Ridge Mutual Water Company 213 11 -
Gizdich Home Ranch 213 6 -
Puresource Water, Inc 206 39 -
Rancho San Andreas 200 22 -
Roaring Camp Railroad Inc 193 35 -
Santa Cruz Waldorf School 190 18 -
Fern Grove Water Club 187 20 -
Big Redwood Park Water 182 47 -
Sunset Beach Mutual Water Co 182 7 -
La Madrona Athletic Club 172 6 -
Mount Madonna Center 170 18 -
Renaissance High School 166 21 -
Koinonia Conference Grounds 166 47 -
Bonny Doon School 160 12 -
Camp Chesebrough 155 18 -
Summit Mutual Water Company 152 51 -

Other Counties in California

Los Angeles County
276 systems · 10,109,089 served · 3,972 violations
San Diego County
197 systems · 3,744,323 served · 4,832 violations
Orange County
46 systems · 3,201,893 served · 507 violations
Riverside County
201 systems · 2,839,125 served · 6,103 violations
San Bernardino County
318 systems · 2,830,626 served · 4,611 violations
Alameda County
27 systems · 2,249,634 served · 275 violations

Drinking Water Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

How many water violations are in Santa Cruz County? ▼
Santa Cruz County has 2,563 total drinking water violations across 96 water systems, of which 844 are health-based violations. 93.8% of systems have at least one violation.
How many people get water from Santa Cruz County systems? ▼
Water systems in Santa Cruz County serve approximately 274,174 people through 96 public water systems.
Has PFAS been detected in Santa Cruz County water? ▼
Of 8 water systems tested for PFAS in Santa Cruz County, 7 had PFAS detected (87.5% detection rate).
What types of water sources supply Santa Cruz County? ▼
Water systems in Santa Cruz County use GW (34 systems), SW (16 systems) as their primary water sources.
Are health-based violations serious? ▼
Health-based violations indicate that drinking water exceeded Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) set by the EPA or failed treatment technique requirements. 32.9% of Santa Cruz County's violations are health-based. Not all violations indicate immediate health risk, but they require corrective action.
Data Sources & Methodology

Drinking water violation data from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). PFAS testing data from the UCMR5 monitoring program. SDWIS tracks all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Violations are categorized as health-based (Maximum Contaminant Level exceedances, treatment technique failures) or monitoring/reporting violations. Not all violations indicate an immediate health risk.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater Editorial

Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on EPA SDWIS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.