Water equipment: backflow prevention devices testing: certification.

Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health, including, but not limited to, conducting research, studies, and demonstration programs relating to the provision of a dependable, safe supply of drinking water, enforcing the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, adoption of enforcement regulations, and conducting studies and investigations to assess the quality of water in domestic water supplies. Existing law requires any person who owns a public water system to ensure that the system does certain things, including, but not limited to, that it will not be subject to backflow under normal operating conditions. Existing law, to ensure that testing and maintenance of backflow prevention devices are performed by persons qualified to do testing and maintenance, authorizes local health officers to maintain programs for certification of backflow prevention device testers. A violation of these provisions, or an order by a local health officer pursuant to these provisions, is a misdemeanor. This bill would require, if a local health officer does not maintain a program for certification of backflow prevention device testers, the testing and maintenance of a backflow prevention device be performed by a person who has received a California-specific certification for testing backflow prevention devices from one of specified entities or a similar certification provider deemed acceptable by the state board or the local health officer. Because a violation of these requirements would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.