
Elevated chemical levels in the water at the Rountree Detention Center near Watsonville have prompted work on a new water filter system. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local)
WATSONVILLE >> After elevated levels of “forever chemicals” or PFAS were found in the water supply of the Rountree jail facility near Watsonville, work on a new water filtration system is expected this year with an $800,000 state grant.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of synthetic chemicals used in everyday products from nonstick pans to stain-resistant clothing. They are known as “forever chemicals” because they never break down, they just keep building up — in the soil, the water, and in plants, animals and our bodies. One study found that 97% of people have some level of PFAS in their blood.
The health effects of the chemicals continue to be investigated, and studies have associated long-term exposure with kidney cancer, decreased response to vaccines, increased cholesterol, pregnancy-related hypertension and thyroid hormone disruption. Studies have suggested that even low levels of exposure to the chemicals can be associated with health problems.
The issue of PFAS at Rountree came to light in 2019, when the State Water Resources Control Board notified Santa Cruz County staff that well water may have elevated levels of the chemicals.
The well water system that serves Rountree is strictly monitored, said Michael Beaton, director of the county’s General Services Department. The water sampled there has “always been better than the state standards for safe drinking water,” Beaton wrote in an email.
Rountree has about 75 staff and has averaged 61 inmates in roughly the past year. Its capacity is roughly 160 inmates, split into facilities for substance-abuse rehabilitation and for low- and moderate-risk jail inmates.
State grant
The Santa Cruz County supervisors accepted the $800,000 state grant in June 2024. Construction on the new filtration system is expected to begin this year and finish by fall 2026.
A feasibility study included in the grant is expected to weigh whether to install ion-exchange filters at Rountree. Other options include digging a new well or linking to the well at the nearby Buena Vista Migrant Center, where a separate filtration system for PFAS is nearing completion.
State law has only recently mandated that public water systems be tested for PFAS. The amount of PFAS detected at the Rountree facility requires under state law only that those affected be notified, and officials maintain that the water is safe to consume.
“There’s no health risks associated with the tap water at this time,” county spokesperson Jason Hoppin told Santa Cruz Local in January. The water is “still available for drinking and showering and washing clothes,” he said.
“We’ve never tested at a level that would require action, but we also would like to get this chemical out of the water if we can,” Hoppin wrote in a text message. “Under state guidelines it’s safe. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do anything about it.”
In April 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established the first national PFAS drinking water standards, setting safe-drinking limits of 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS, which are two types of PFAS, and limits of 10 parts per trillion for four other types of PFAS. Those limits won’t be legally enforceable until 2029.
Water tested at Rountree had a PFOA concentration of 5.9 parts per trillion in December 2024, according to state records.
California has its own standards, with the State Water Resources Control Board requiring notification of PFOA and PFOS contamination when levels reach 5.1 parts per trillion and 6.5 parts per trillion respectively. Treatment should be provided or the water source taken out of service at 10 parts per trillion for PFOA and 40 parts per trillion for PFOS, according to state standards.
Since April 2024, the state set a public health goal of 0.007 parts per trillion for PFOA and 1 part per trillion for PFOS.

An entrance to the county’s Buena Vista Landfill is next to the Rountree jail facility. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local)
Bottled water
PFAS chemicals can seep into groundwater, and water is often contaminated where PFAS-containing products fill landfills. The County of Santa Cruz’s Buena Vista Landfill is next to Rountree. A 495-page report published by the county on Dec. 12 suggested that the landfill was not the source of the PFAS in the water.
Paul Lego, chair of the county’s Water Advisory Commission, asked the Santa Cruz County Supervisors in April 2024 to consider providing Rountree staff and inmates with bottled water “as an interim measure to ensure access to safe drinking water.” The commission advises the board on water issues.
“This proactive approach will alleviate concerns and mitigate potential risks associated with elevated PFAS levels until the necessary remediation efforts are completed,” Lego wrote in an April 30 letter to the supervisors.
The supervisors did not ask for bottled water.
“Why wouldn’t the county at least offer bottled water and include it in the budget?” asked Becky Steinbruner, a frequent critic of county policy.
As state and federal regulators have started looking closer at PFAS in recent years, testing has ramped up.
A map compiled by the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit Environmental Working Group shows more than 8,800 sites with PFAS contamination nationwide. The group estimates that more than 200 million Americans are exposed to PFAS in their drinking water.
In Santa Cruz County, elevated levels of PFAS also have been recorded in Watsonville, San Lorenzo Valley and around Paradise Park, according to state records and the Environmental Working Group.
Additional reporting by Nik Altenberg and Jesse Kathan.

An Environmental Working Group map shows a light blue dot near “Santa Cruz County Landfill” that indicates the Rountree jail facility and an elevated level of potentially harmful chemicals. (Environmental Working Group)
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Jesse Greenspan is a freelance journalist who writes about history, science and the environment. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Scientific American, Audubon and other publications.