Article 2. Department And Local Responsibilities of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 104. >> Part 12. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 2.

The department shall be responsible for ensuring that all public water systems are operated in compliance with this chapter and any regulations adopted hereunder. The department shall directly enforce this chapter for all public water systems except as set forth in Section 116500.

In administering programs to fund improvements and expansions of small community water systems, the department shall do all of the following:
  (a) Give priority to funding projects in disadvantaged communities.
  (b) Encourage the consolidation of small community water systems that serve disadvantaged communities in instances where consolidation will help the affected agencies and the state to meet all of the following goals:
  (1) Improvement in the quality of water delivered.
  (2) Improvement in the reliability of water delivery.
  (3) Reduction in the cost of drinking water for ratepayers.
  (c) Pursuant to subdivision (b), allow funding for feasibility studies performed prior to a construction project to include studies of the feasibility of consolidating two or more community water systems, at least one of which is a small community water system that serves a disadvantaged community.
  (d) In instances where it is shown that small community water system consolidation will further the goals of subdivision (b), give priority to funding construction projects that involve the physical restructuring of two or more community water systems, at least one of which is a small community water system that serves a disadvantaged community, into a single, consolidated system.

(a) The department may delegate primary responsibility for the administration and enforcement of this chapter within a county to a local health officer authorized by the board of supervisors to assume these duties, by means of a local primacy delegation agreement if the local health officer demonstrates that it has the capability to meet the local primacy program requirements established by the department pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 116375. This delegation shall not include the regulation of community water systems serving 200 or more service connections. The local primacy agreement may contain terms and conditions that the department deems necessary to carry out this chapter. The local primacy agreement shall provide that, although the local primacy agency shall be primarily responsible for administration and enforcement of this chapter for the designated water systems, the department does not thereby relinquish its authority, but rather shall retain jurisdiction to administer and enforce this chapter for the designated water systems to the extent determined necessary by the department.
  (b) Any local health officer seeking a local primacy delegation shall submit an application to the department. The application shall be submitted by March 1, 1993, for local health officers seeking local primacy agreements for the 1993-94 fiscal year. Thereafter, the application shall be submitted by January 1, of the fiscal year immediately preceding the commencement of the fiscal year for which the local primacy delegation is sought. The application shall be in the format, and shall contain information, required by the department. The department shall approve the application for primacy if the department determines that the local health officer is capable of meeting the primacy program requirements established by the department.
  (c) A local primacy delegation approved by the department shall remain in effect until any of the following conditions occur:
  (1) The delegation is withdrawn by mutual agreement.
  (2) The local primacy agency provides 120-day advance written notice to the department that it no longer wishes to retain local primacy.
  (3) The department determines that the local primacy agency no longer complies with the department's local primacy program requirements. The department shall provide written notice to the local primacy agency and the board of supervisors and shall provide an opportunity for a public hearing prior to initiation of any local primacy revocation action by the department.
  (d) The department shall evaluate the drinking water program of each local primacy agency at least annually. The department shall prepare a report of the evaluation and list any program improvements needed to conform to the department's local primacy program requirements. A copy of the evaluation report shall be provided to the local primacy agency and the board of supervisors. The local primacy agency shall be granted a reasonable amount of time to make any needed program improvements prior to the initiation of any local primacy revocation actions.
  (e) To the extent funds are available in the Safe Drinking Water Account, the department shall provide the local primacy agency with an annual drinking water surveillance program grant to cover the cost of conducting the inspection, monitoring, surveillance, and water quality evaluation activities specified in the local primacy agreement. The annual program grant pursuant to this subdivision shall not exceed the amount that the department determines would be necessary for the department to conduct inspection, monitoring, surveillance, and water quality evaluation activities in the absence of a local primacy agreement for those systems in that county.
  (f) The local primacy agency shall act for the department as the primary agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of this chapter for the specified public water systems and shall be empowered with all of the authority granted to the department by this chapter over those water systems.

(a) The public water systems serving the City of Maywood shall conduct, publish, and submit to the City of Maywood, the State Department of Public Health, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, and the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials a study on the City of Maywood's water by December 21, 2010, addressing the impacts of manganese on the quality of the City of Maywood's water. The report shall contain all of the following:
  (1) Testing information and results on manganese for all of the sources of drinking water for the City of Maywood.
  (2) The amount of manganese being contributed by each water source that serves the City of Maywood.
  (3) Immediate and long-term steps that can be taken by the public water systems to reduce the amount of manganese in the drinking water supply to be at least as low as a level that is consistent with the average level in communities within a 20-mile radius of the City of Maywood.
  (4) Infrastructure improvements that can be made to reach the immediate and long-term goals to reduce the level of manganese and other contaminants in the water to be consistent with the average level in communities within a 20-mile radius of the City of Maywood.
  (5) Actions that the public water systems will take to pursue funding in order to achieve those improvements.
  (b) The City Council of Maywood shall conduct a public hearing on the results of the study.
  (c) The public water systems shall respond in writing to public comments made at the hearing to the City Council of Maywood.
  (d) The study and comments shall be posted on the public water systems' Internet Web sites.
  (e) All current notifications sent to the rate payers within the City of Maywood concerning water contaminants shall also be sent to occupants, in the same manner as set forth in subdivision (f) of Section 116450, and shall be distributed in English and the primary language of the residents of the city as well as posted on the public water systems' Internet Web sites.

This chapter shall not apply to state small water systems except as provided under this section:
  (a) The department shall adopt regulations specifying minimum requirements for operation of a state small water system. The requirements may be less stringent than the requirements for public water systems as set forth in this chapter.
  (b) The minimum requirements for state small water systems adopted by the department pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be enforced by the local health officer or a local health agency designated by the local health officer. In counties that do not have a local health officer, the requirements shall be enforced by the department. Local health agencies may adopt more stringent requirements for state small water systems than those specified in the state regulations.
  (c) The reasonable costs of the local health officer in carrying out the requirements of this section may be recovered through the imposition of fees on state small water systems by the local governing body in accordance with Section 101325.

(a) The local health officer shall submit a report monthly to the department regarding the status of compliance with this chapter by the public water systems under the jurisdiction of the local health officer. The report shall be in a form and manner prescribed by the department.
  (b) The department shall review the public water system program of the local health officer at least every three years to assure compliance with this chapter. A report of the findings of the review along with any recommendations of the department shall be provided to the local health officer and the board of supervisors.