SOQUEL >> A new state report detailing neighborhood-level pollution problems across California paints a grim picture when it comes to local water quality.
While there are bright spots, many Central Coast customers receive some of the poorest water in coastal California, rivaling tap water in the Central Valley and other areas where drinking water has long fueled a debate among residents, environmentalists and farmers.
The study came as a surprise to many local districts, who said their water is safe to drink.
"It meets all of the health limitations, all of the required health standards, that we're required to meet," said Kim Adamson, general manager of the Soquel Creek Water District.
Most of the debate about local water has focused on supply, with the statewide drought leading to widespread rationing. Historic shortages have even led to periodic building moratoriums, which impact the local economy and can contribute to sky-high local real estate prices.
But water quality has not been at the forefront of the debate. One issue now facing local water officials are new state-issued limits on hexavalent chromium, an often-naturally occurring contaminant for which Soquel Creek plans to spend $6.5 million to set up a treatment system.
Issued by the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the report uses an index to rank more that 7,000 census tracts in California based on hazardous cleanup sites, air pollution, pesticide use, water and more.
The county fares well overall, enjoying better air quality than Bay Area neighbors to the north. But based on the state's water indicator alone, 11 local census tracts are among the bottom 10 percent in California.
Those problems begin in Scotts Valley and move into the Soquel, Aptos and La Selva Beach areas, extending from there into Moss Landing and the Salinas Valley. Other than around the Ventura area and parts of sparsely populated Big Sur, the water here is generally worse than even coastal Los Angeles County.
"It's a surprise to me," said Patrick McCormick, executive officer of the Santa Cruz Local Agency Formation Commission, which helps oversee local water boundaries. "What I haven't done is look at why we stand out."
The state tracked 19 substances, 12 of which are known carcinogens. They include natural substances such as arsenic and dry-cleaning derivatives such as trichloroethylene, as well nitrates, which can come from fertilizer and has been an issue in numerous poor farming communities across California.
Groundwater wells in the Pajaro Valley and communities like La Selva Beach do have nitrates, but many of those have been taken offline. Scotts Valley has known issues such as the Watkins-Johnson Superfund site, but testing there has showed the contamination to be contained.
The city of Santa Cruz's water supply fared well, despite drawing much of its supply from surface streams, generally thought to be more vulnerable to contamination than groundwater.
Santa Cruz Water Director Rosemary Menard said local watersheds such as the San Lorenzo Valley aren't as developed as they are in other areas, which can mean cleaner sources.
"If you take it from the Mississippi River, yeah," Menard said. "If you take it from the San Lorenzo (River) or other local streams, then not so much."
Menard cautioned that contaminants are measured in parts per billion or even parts per trillion. At those levels, exposure would have to occur at a high level over many years to impact a person's health.
The county's average water quality index is comparable to the rest of the state. Monterey County — including the coastal neighborhood of Springfield Terrace, which has one of the most polluted water sources in the state — is sixth worst, though the Carmel River-fed Monterey Peninsula area does well.
Many of the most severe water problems are found in small water systems with shallow wells, and Monterey County is the only one in the state that routinely tests domestic wells. Those kinds of details wouldn't be picked up by the state report.
"When you're looking at the local level in rural areas, or sparsely populated areas, it's really door-to-door," said Jennifer Clary of Clean Water Action.
To view a map put together by Los Angeles Times on pollution levels in California neighborhoods, visit http://graphics.latimes.com/responsivemap-pollution-burdens/.