Drinking water: point-of-use treatments.

Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, provides for the operation of public water systems, and requires a person to submit an application to the State Department of Public Health and receive a permit to operate a public water system. Existing law prohibits the department from issuing a permit to a public water system or amending a valid existing permit to allow the use of point-of-use treatment unless the department determines, after conducting a public hearing, that there is no substantial community opposition to the installation of point-of-use treatment devices. Existing law provides that the issuance of a permit under this provision shall be limited to not more than 3 years or until funding for centralized treatment is available, whichever occurs first. This bill would require the department to allow public water systems serving 20 or less residential connections to continue the use of point-of-use treatment beyond the 3 year maximum. This bill would authorize the applicant to use available census tract data to demonstrate median household income if the department requires a demonstration of economic feasibility for public water systems serving 20 or less residential connections.