A water quality report from 1995 is being used by Inyo County officials in 2025 as supporting documentation in their search for a new operator for Tecopa Hot Springs County Park — even though the report was never commissioned by the county.
The decades-old analysis was conducted by J. Edward Guilmette, an environmental consultant who happened to park his 31-foot mobile lab at the campground while conducting research on desert springs in the Death Valley region. During his stay, he collected a water sample from the pipe that supplies the men’s hot pool at the Tecopa facility — out of what he described as simple curiosity.
Back then, Guilmette’s portable lab could handle basic testing, but for more advanced chemical analysis, he sent the sample to National Testing Laboratories. The results — documented in Report #9720462 — painted a remarkably clean picture of the water at that time.
No dangerous chemicals like benzene, vinyl chloride, or other volatile organic compounds were detected. These substances, often linked to industrial pollution, were tested for in concentrations as low as parts per billion — and none were found. Similarly, no trihalomethanes — chemical byproducts sometimes formed when chlorine reacts with organic material — were present.
The water also tested free of harmful heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. Only trace amounts of aluminum, barium, and sodium were detected, all well within safe levels. The pH measured a perfectly neutral 7.0, and the water was extremely low in total dissolved solids — a technical term that basically means there wasn’t much mineral buildup or contamination.
In terms of microbial safety, the lab found zero coliform bacteria in the sample, meaning the water showed no signs of fecal contamination or other biological hazards. Turbidity — or cloudiness — was also low, suggesting the water was clear and sediment-free.
Although Guilmette’s report was never part of any official county water monitoring program, it is now being used by Inyo County in its 2025 Request for Proposals (RFP) as evidence of water quality at the hot springs. The RFP seeks a new concessionaire to manage and operate Tecopa Hot Springs County Park — a popular and historic public facility located in the heart of the Amargosa Valley.
The county’s use of this private document raises some questions. The water sample was taken 30 years ago, under unknown maintenance conditions, and from a specific point in the system — the men’s hot pool inlet — which may or may not reflect the current quality of the source water or the infrastructure it flows through today. Moreover, Guilmette himself had asked the county back in 1995 to share their own historical test results, which suggests that his sampling was never intended to be definitive or comprehensive.
Still, the 1995 analysis offers a rare glimpse into the natural state of Tecopa’s geothermal waters before decades of additional use, facility wear, and environmental change. Whether it remains an accurate representation of conditions in 2025 is unclear.
As Inyo County weighs proposals from potential new operators, the question remains: will more recent and comprehensive water testing be conducted before a new concessionaire takes over — or will decisions be made based on a single water sample taken three decades ago, by a traveler just passing through?
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