Strategy for State Small Water Systems, Domestic Wells and Other Self-Supplied Communities

The State Water Board is working with counties to collect water quality data on state small water systems and domestic wells. Once collected, the data (location, number of people served, water quality, etc.) will be available to the public online. Access to this data will enable better decision-making on local and regional levels.

  For more information, visit: State Small Water System and Domestic Well Water Quality Data.

The State Water Board will provide funding for counties that want to develop programs for domestic wells and state small water systems. Technical Assistance providers will support and train counties as they develop tailored programs based on the needs of local communities. These programs can offer solutions such as water sampling, consolidation, point-of-use and point-of-entry water treatment, well drilling, long-term hauled water, vended water, and bottled water.

  For more information, visit County-wide and Regional Funding Programs.

The State Water Board will fund partners to implement regionalization processes in two regions of the state. Regionalization is a process where several local water systems and domestic well users in a region work together to identify solutions that can deliver safe, sustainable and affordable drinking water in the long term. Regionalization can include several wells or water systems being subsumed into one large water system, the creation of a new water system, the creation of a new governance structure, or managerial consolidation.

Funding Partners will identify, fund, and coordinate local groups and organizations to serve as Community Partners.  Community Partners will provide expertise to develop community engagement strategies and will implement direct engagement with domestic well owners and state small water systems. In addition, Technical Assistance providers will offer guidance and technical expertise on elements of regionalization including assessing existing technical, managerial, and financial capacity of the region; understanding feasibility and water rate studies; and assessing long-term governance and funding options. The State Water Board plans to implement this two-region pilot in 2023. If successful, the approach may be implemented in other regions in the future.

For more information, contact SAFER@waterboards.ca.gov or see the Outreach and Engagement Strategy (Estrategia de divulgación y participación).

Point-of-use (POU) devices treat water from a single outlet, faucet, or fixture, and point-of-entry (POE) devices treat water entering a house or building. These devices may be the only available solution for Californians with water quality issues in rural areas. The State Water Board is developing a pilot to better understand the challenges, needs, and opportunities in implementing POU/POE treatment as a sustainable approach. Currently, Water Boards staff are gathering input from stakeholders and writing a report about POU/POE approaches and challenges, and plan to begin a pilot in 2022.