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Non-Transient Non-Community Water System · PWS CA4400725

Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds

Watsonville, California 95076 - drinking water served from groundwater sources to 550 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

550
People served
14
EPA violations
3
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 14 drinking-water violations at Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 21% of them health-based - below the California per-system average.

14
Total EPA violations on record
21%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
550
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds

Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds is a local-owned non-transient non-community water system that delivers drinking water to 550 residents in Watsonville, California (Santa Cruz County) through 35 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 14 total violations for this system , of which 3 (21%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 6 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2024.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Lead and Copper Rule, recorded in 6 violations (MR). 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%).

Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds's 14 violations sit below 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
550
Total Violations
14
Health-Based Violations
3
Water Source
Groundwater

System Details

System Type
Non-Transient Non-Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
35
County
Santa Cruz
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
0
Monitoring Violations
6
Treatment Tech Violations
3

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Lead and Copper Rule MR 6 2022
Lead and Copper Rule TT 2 2022
LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS TT 1 2024
LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS RPT 1 2024

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 Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds.

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 CA4400725 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 Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds 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
2024 LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS TT 1 SDWIS / CA4400725 / 5200
2024 LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS RPT 1 SDWIS / CA4400725 / 5200
2022 Lead and Copper Rule MR 6 SDWIS / CA4400725 / 5000
2022 Lead and Copper Rule TT 2 SDWIS / CA4400725 / 5000

How Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Compares

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

Metric Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds California avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 14 21.1 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 3 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 550 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 Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds water safe to drink? ▼
Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds (PWS ID: CA4400725) has 14 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 550 people using Groundwater sources.
How many people does Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds serve? ▼
Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds serves 550 people in Watsonville, California. It is a Local-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 35 service connections.
What type of violations does Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds have? ▼
Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds has 14 total violations: 3 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 6 monitoring/reporting violations, and 3 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds use? ▼
Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds uses Groundwater as its primary water source. It is classified as a Non-Transient Non-Community Water System, serving the same people for at least 6 months per year.
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.