Santa Cruz County, CA
The federal environmental record for Santa Cruz County (population 261,547): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
1
Superfund NPL sites
5
federal cleanup sites
3
PFAS-detecting water systems
1
TRI facilities
15
open tank releases
Superfund NPL sites
| Site | City | Status | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watkins-Johnson Co. (Stewart Division Plant) | Scotts Valley | on the NPL | 08/30/1990 |
Drinking water: PFAS testing
Public water systems serving Santa Cruz with at least one PFAS detection under UCMR5. The federal limit for PFOA and PFOS is 4 ng/L; EPA proposed in May 2026 to rescind the limits for the other compounds, which are shown for information.
| System | Highest results | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| WATSONVILLE, CITY OF CA4410011 | PFHxS: 6.7 ng/L PFOA: 6.5 ng/L PFBS: 6.3 ng/L | above final limit |
| SCOTTS VALLEY WATER DISTRICT CA4410013 | PFPeA: 6.5 ng/L PFHxA: 4.5 ng/L | detected |
| SAN LORENZO VALLEY WATER DIST CA4410014 | PFBS: 3.4 ng/L | detected |
On a system with detections? Testing and treatment options
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
1 facilities in Santa Cruz filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 0 lb released.
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| GRANITE ROCK CO SANTA CRUZ CON | SANTA CRUZ | Lead | 0 lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 104 tank facilities in Santa Cruz: 262 tanks in service and 0 closed. 366 fuel releases are on record, of which 15 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Santa Cruz as Zone 2, moderate predicted indoor radon (2 to 4 pCi/L average). Radon and air quality are covered in depth on lung.com.
The record for one specific address
County figures blur what matters: distance. The Address Environmental Report runs these same federal datasets against one address and reports every site, tank, polluter and water result around it, with distances, in about a minute.
Get the report - $39All federal cleanup sites on file
The wider Superfund enterprise inventory (SEMS) for Santa Cruz, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- MARCH AIR FORCE BASERIVERSIDE
- NAVAL IND RESERVE ORD PLANTSANTA CRUZ
- VALETERIA DRY CLEANERSFELTON
- WATKINS-JOHNSON CO. (STEWART DIVISION PLANT)SCOTTS VALLEY
- WILDER RANCH BURN DUMPSANTA CRUZ