SACRAMENTO, CA — Governor Newsom announced the signing of Senate Bill 1188 authored by Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), which promotes safe and reliable drinking water access for Californians by assuring small water systems meet minimum standards of operation.
“I thank Governor Newsom for signing this critical public health bill to further access to safe drinking water, a human right that over 700,000 Californians lack,” said Senator John Laird. “Senate Bill 1188 helps safeguard this fundamental right by empowering the state to proactively identify and assist small water systems struggling with operational capacity that threatens water reliability .”
SB 1188 establishes minimum standards for Technical, Managerial, and Financial (TMF) capacity for small water systems serving under 3,000 connections or 10,000 people. Minimum standards will include commitments such as sufficient revenue reserves, adequate staffing and management, infrastructure reliability, and more. These standards are crucial given that small water systems are more susceptible to operational and capacity challenges due to a lower revenue base that makes it difficult to afford full-time management and technical staff, or afford necessary infrastructure improvements.
This legislation is intended to prevent future failures of small water systems. The new TMF standards will help small water districts across California avoid failure by ensuring they are operating sustainably, and that their customers are receiving safe, reliable drinking water. Small water systems will be required to either demonstrate compliance with the minimum standards, show progress towards compliance, or consider consolidation with a nearby water system that has the ability to meet safe drinking water standards.
SB 1188 was introduced in response to unsafe water quality and supply issues plaguing local systems across the 17th District, including the Big Basin Water Company located in Santa Cruz County, which experiences many of the TMF deficiencies addressed in SB 1188. With the implementation of minimum standards included in SB 1188, the state will be able to proactively identify specific challenges within individual water systems that could affect their long-term reliability.
"I have seen the effects failed small water systems have had on my constituents in the 17th District,” said Senator Laird. “The recent failure of Big Basin Water Company is a good example of one that SB 1188 could have prevented. Sadly, there are dozens more small water companies like Big Basin across the state on the brink of collapse. We must do all we can to prevent the burden and undue hardships these failures place on Californians. SB 1188 is a timely and much needed step in this direction. I’m glad we’re providing the tools for the state to start chipping away at this."
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Senator John Laird represents the 17th State Senate District, which includes all of Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties, the majority of Monterey County, as well as parts of Santa Clara County. More information on Senator Laird can be found here.