Transfer of Drinking Water Programs

Transfer of Drinking Water Programs from the Department of Public Health to the State Water Board

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As of July 1, 2014, the administration of the Drinking Water Program (DWP) has transferred from the Department of Public Health (DPH) to the State Water Board. This transfer of responsibility aligns the state’s drinking water and water quality programs in an integrated organizational structure to best position the state to both effectively protect water quality and the public health as it relates to water quality, while meeting current needs and future demands on water supplies.

The Administration had proposed to transfer the Drinking Water Program from the Department of Public Health (DPH) to the State Water Board on July 1, 2014. This proposal is described in a White Paper circulated in the summer of 2013.

The California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Health and Human Services Agency held a public meeting on January 15, 2014 to obtain input on the proposed transfer.

The Secretary for Environmental Health Protection and the Secretary of Health and Human Services used input from the Drinking Water Reorganization Task Force and January 15, 2014. The transition plan released in March is below. Immediately below this is a link to the available Department of Finance trailer bill language posted May 20 that describes how this program would be fiscally and statutorily transferred to the State Water Resources Control Board from the California Department of Public Health.

With the Governor's signing of Senate Bill 851 and Senate Bill 861, the transfer was approved and occurred on July 1, 2014. Documents related to the transfer follow:

Division of Drinking Water (DDW)

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