Ladera
Health Watch
A resident-led environmental health
research & advocacy initiative
Working with residents, researchers, public agencies, HOA leaders, board members and policymakers to investigate environmental health concerns, advocate for organic land care, improve transparency, and reduce preventable exposures.
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How We Got Here-
a timeline: from questions to action
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Ladera Health Watch was formed in Spring 2026 to turn community concerns into documented research, government review and policy action. Here are some of the actions LHW has initiated or helped advance.
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Latest Updates
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What has happened so far
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and California Cancer Registry are conducting a focused assessment of cancer incidence in the Ladera Ranch area in response to community concerns involving Ewing sarcoma and other cancers.
CDPH says the assessment uses cancer data through 2023 and census-tract-level information that allows for a more localized analysis than was available during the earlier 2024 review. Results are currently expected in fall 2026.
The assessment follows CDC/ATSDR guidelines for examining unusual patterns of cancer. No environmental cause of the reported cancers has been established.
Ladera Health Watch will review the methodology and findings when they are released and make the information accessible to the community.
Link here: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DCDIC/CDSRB/Pages/Ladera-Ranch-Cancer-Concern.aspx
Ladera Health Watch is working with researchers and environmental-health experts to develop scientifically appropriate ways to investigate questions raised in Ladera Ranch.
Dr. Jennifer Piazza and researchers at California State University, Fullerton are developing preliminary environmental research that may include soil and water sampling. They are currently waiting for written approval from the LARMAC HOA board and CAPO Unified School District.
LHW is also consulting with additional researchers and technical experts regarding potential exposure pathways, historical environmental conditions and opportunities for larger scientific studies.
The goal is to develop research capable of answering defined scientific questions rather than drawing conclusions from isolated environmental measurements.
The Orange County Agricultural Commissioner is investigating four pesticide-related complaints associated with Ladera Ranch. Ladera Health Watch has provided pesticide notices, application information, photographs, historical records and witness information relevant to the review.
CDPH has also confirmed that the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and Orange County Agricultural Commissioner are reviewing local pest-management operations to determine whether there may have been violations of state or federal law. That work includes review of pesticide-use and training records, interviews with pesticide companies and observation of local pesticide applications.
LHW will continue following these investigations and seeking access to the underlying findings and records.
Official resources:
California Department of Public Health — Ladera Ranch Cancer Concern
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DCDIC/CDSRB/Pages/Ladera-Ranch-Cancer-Concern.aspx
LARMAC — Integrated Pest Management, Product Information & Notices
https://laderalife.com/your-hoa-at-work/integrated-pest-management
LHW's land-management work is focused on reducing reliance on routine pesticide applications—not simply replacing one chemical product with another.
We are advocating for an organic-first Integrated Pest Management approach that prioritizes soil and plant health, prevention, improved irrigation and turf practices, monitoring, mechanical and nonchemical weed control, and other practices designed to reduce the need for pesticides.
LARMAC is currently developing a new IPM program and has extended its landscape-product pause to 120 days while that work continues. Capistrano Unified School District is also reviewing its IPM practices following its pause on routine landscape weed-control applications.
LHW is working with organic land-care and pest-management experts to identify approaches that are effective, financially sustainable and capable of being replicated elsewhere.
LARMAC is also pursuing funding through DPR's Sustainable Pest Management Grants Program, which offers competitive awards of up to $1 million for IPM research, implementation, tools and outreach.
Link here: https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/spm-grants/spm-grants-program/
Ladera Health Watch is reviewing drinking-water and recycled-water records to better understand the systems serving Ladera Ranch, their regulatory history and the environmental questions residents have raised.
The work includes Ladera-specific drinking-water monitoring data, reservoir and infrastructure information, recycled-water service areas and maps, regulatory inspections, compliance records and corrective actions.
In parallel, Dr. Jennifer Piazza and researchers at California State University, Fullerton have developed a preliminary plan for soil and water sampling in Ladera Ranch. The team is currently awaiting written approval from LARMAC and Capistrano Unified School District for access to proposed sampling locations before testing can begin.
LHW is also reviewing historical complaints and regulatory records involving recycled-water use and irrigation practices to identify questions that may warrant additional scientific or regulatory review.
No evidence currently establishes drinking or recycled water as a cause of the reported cancers. This work is intended to document what is known, identify gaps in available information and determine whether additional investigation is warranted.
Official resource: Santa Margarita Water District — Water Quality: Ladera Ranch
https://smwd.com/627/Water-Quality-Ladera-Ranch
Ladera Health Watch engages with local, county, state and federal officials through written comments, public testimony, agency engagement and policy proposals focused on environmental health, cancer research, pesticide regulation and public transparency.
In August 2026, LHW submitted written public comment to the California Legislature’s joint oversight hearing, “Putting Public Protection First: Is California’s Pesticide Program Achieving its Purpose?” The hearing examined whether California’s pesticide regulatory system is adequately protecting public health and how quickly the state should transition toward Sustainable Pest Management. Senator Catherine Blakespear specifically discussed the concerns in Ladera Ranch during her opening remarks.
Official proceeding: California Legislature — August 11 Pesticide Oversight Hearing
LHW submission: Read Ladera Health Watch’s Written Comment
State lawmakers have also advanced two resolutions arising from the concerns surrounding rare pediatric cancers in Ladera Ranch and South Orange County.
HR 129 — Sarcoma Awareness Month was introduced by Assemblymembers Kate Sanchez, Laurie Davies and Diane Dixon and adopted by the California Assembly on August 10, 2026. The resolution recognizes July as Sarcoma Awareness Month and emphasizes the need for greater public awareness, expanded research and improved clinical resources for sarcoma.
Official legislation: California Legislature — HR 129, Sarcoma Awareness Month
AJR 35 — Pediatric Cancer Clusters in South Orange County was introduced by Assemblymembers Sanchez, Davies and Dixon and is currently before the Assembly Health Committee. The resolution would petition the President and Congress to direct the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to prioritize and fund research into environmental co-factors and potential triggers of Ewing sarcoma and other rare pediatric bone cancers. It also calls for state-federal scientific collaboration and research into chemical-exposure pathways and localized cancer patterns in South Orange County.
Official legislation: California Legislature — AJR 35, Environmental Investigations: Pediatric Cancer
Separately, on July 21, six state legislators representing South Orange County jointly asked the EPA, CalEPA, California Department of Pesticide Regulation and California Department of Public Health to conduct a coordinated review of environmental exposure pathways in Ladera Ranch, complete and publicly release the updated cancer analysis, provide the community with a clear timeline, and review compliance with pesticide-safety laws.
Official letter: Request for Joint Investigation into the Pediatric Cancer Concerns in Ladera Ranch
LHW remains nonpartisan and works with policymakers and agencies across jurisdictions where there is an opportunity to advance scientific research, environmental-health protections and greater public transparency.