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Community Water System · PWS CA4400608

Forest Springs

Boulder Creek, California 95006 - drinking water served from surface water sources to 385 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

385
People served
267
EPA violations
240
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 267 drinking-water violations at Forest Springs, 90% of them health-based - above the California per-system average.

267
Total EPA violations on record
90%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
385
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Forest Springs

Forest Springs is a private-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 385 residents in Boulder Creek, California (Santa Cruz County) through 126 service connections. Its water is drawn from surface water sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 267 total violations for this system , of which 240 (90%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 14 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2022.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Surface Water Treatment Rule, recorded in 234 violations (TT, health-based). This system has not yet been sampled under EPA's UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program, so no PFAS detection data is available here.

Across California, EPA tracks 7,249 public water systems serving 42,404,883 people, with 153,308 cumulative violations and 63,983 health-based violations on record. About 89% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 21.1 violations. Statewide, 447 of 694 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (64.4%).

Forest Springs's 267 violations sit above the California average.

All figures above are sourced directly from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 public data releases and are updated as EPA publishes new reporting cycles.

Population Served
385
Total Violations
267
Health-Based Violations
240
Water Source
Surface Water

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Private
Connections
126
County
Santa Cruz
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
2
Monitoring Violations
14
Treatment Tech Violations
238

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Surface Water Treatment Rule TT 234 2016
Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 7 2022
Lead and Copper Rule MR 5 2019
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule TT 4 2012
Consumer Confidence Rule Other 2 2021
Coliform (TCR) MCL 2 2005
Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U MR 2 1981

Verify This Water System

The figures above are aggregated from EPA's public databases. To verify the underlying records, or to file a complaint, request a Consumer Confidence Report, or check current monitoring status, go directly to the federal and state regulators that enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act for Forest Springs.

Federal Source of Truth

EPA SDWIS, Federal Reports

EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) holds the federal compliance record for every regulated public water system. Open the system-level report by PWS ID:

View PWS ID CA4400608 on SDWIS

Source: EPA SDWIS Federal Reports Search

State Regulator

California Drinking Water Authority

California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water is the primacy agency that licenses and inspects Forest Springs under EPA-delegated authority.

Open CA regulator portal

Source: California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water

Violation Timeline

Each row links to the EPA SDWIS public record for verification. Cross-reference the contaminant code on EPA's federal report to see violation dates, return-to-compliance status, and enforcement actions.

Year (latest) Contaminant Category Count EPA Record
2022 Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 7 SDWIS / CA4400608 / 8000
2021 Consumer Confidence Rule Other 2 SDWIS / CA4400608 / 7000
2019 Lead and Copper Rule MR 5 SDWIS / CA4400608 / 5000
2016 Surface Water Treatment Rule TT 234 SDWIS / CA4400608 / 0200
2012 Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule TT 4 SDWIS / CA4400608 / 0300
2005 Coliform (TCR) MCL 2 SDWIS / CA4400608 / 3100
1981 Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U MR 2 SDWIS / CA4400608 / 4000

How Forest Springs Compares

Cross-reference this system's record against state averages and the federal MCL framework for context.

Metric Forest Springs California avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 267 21.1 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 240 8.8 Indicates a contaminant exceeded a federal MCL
PFAS detection None 64.4% EPA final rule (2024): PFOA/PFOS MCL = 4.0 ppt
Population served 385 5,850 Sizing context for compliance burden

Sources: EPA SDWIS and EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). State averages computed across 7,249 regulated public water systems in California.

Federal MCL reference, Safe Drinking Water Act thresholds ▼
Contaminant Federal MCL / Action Level Note
Lead 0 mg/L (Action Level: 0.015 mg/L) Lead and Copper Rule treatment technique
Arsenic 0.010 mg/L (10 ppb) Health-based MCL since 2006
Total Coliform Treatment technique (RTCR) Indicator organism, monitoring trigger
PFOA / PFOS (PFAS) 4.0 ppt each (final 2024 rule) Compliance deadline 2029 (EPA proposed extending to 2031, not yet final as of May 2026)
Nitrate (as N) 10 mg/L Acute health risk for infants

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Forest Springs water safe to drink? ▼
Forest Springs (PWS ID: CA4400608) has 267 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 385 people using Surface Water sources.
How many people does Forest Springs serve? ▼
Forest Springs serves 385 people in Boulder Creek, California. It is a Private-owned system using Surface Water water sources with 126 service connections.
What type of violations does Forest Springs have? ▼
Forest Springs has 267 total violations: 240 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 14 monitoring/reporting violations, and 238 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Forest Springs water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Forest Springs under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Forest Springs use? ▼
Forest Springs uses Surface Water as its primary water source. It is classified as a Community Water System (CWS), serving residential populations year-round.
Where does this data come from? ▼
All data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and the UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program. SDWIS tracks compliance for all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Data Sources: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), Q4 2025. This data is provided for informational purposes only.

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 system's figures are rendered directly from 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.