BILL ANALYSIS
AB 890
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 890 (John A. Perez)
As Amended July 1, 2009
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-1 |(June 2, 2009) |SENATE: |31-3 |(August 31, |
| | | | | |2009) |
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Original Committee Reference: E.S. & T. M.
SUMMARY : Provides for a review of the public water systems
(PWSs) in the City of Maywood for manganese contamination.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of the bill,
and instead:
1)State various findings and intent concerning manganese and the
effects of manganese on the residents of the City of Maywood.
2)Require the public water systems serving the City of Maywood
to conduct, publish, and distribute a study on the source of
manganese in the water serving the City of Maywood and actions
that can be taken to improvement the water to a level
consistent with surrounding communities.
3)Require the city council of Maywood to conduct a public
hearing concerning the results of the study.
4)Require the public water systems to respond to comments from
the hearing in writing.
5)Require the public water systems to notify the residents of
the City of Maywood regarding contaminants in their water.
EXISTING LAW , under the California Safe Drinking Water Act,
requires
1)Every public water system to notify users when certain
monitoring or other requirements have not been complied with;
to notify customers when failure to comply with a primary
drinking water standard represents an imminent danger; to
notify customers that they should avoid consumption of the
water supply due to a chemical contamination that may pose a
AB 890
Page 2
health risk and to instead use bottled water; to notify
consumers of confirmation of detected contaminants; and, to
annually deliver a copy of the consumer confidence report to
each customer.
2)A person operating a public water system to notify the
governing body of the local agency in which the users of a
drinking water supply reside, within 30 days of the closure of
a well or upon discovery of a contaminant exceeding a maximum
contaminant level or an action level set for drinking water.
3)PWSs to be permitted by the Department of Public Health (DPH)
and demonstrate that they provide a reliable and adequate
supply of water at all times that is pure, wholesome, potable,
and does not endanger the health of consumers.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill provided for a review of
the PWSs in the City of Maywood. The City of Maywood, upon a
vote of the city council, may request a review by the DPH on
whether the PWSs that provides water to the residents of Maywood
possess the adequate financial, managerial, and technical
capacity to provide safe, wholesome, and potable drinking water.
In the event the PWS system fails to meet the conditions
establish by the DPH, then the DPH shall revoke its permit to
operate.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown cost to the City of Maywood. The bill
provides that no State reimbursement is required for costs
incurred by the City of Maywood.
COMMENTS :
1)According to the City of Maywood, the sponsor of this bill,
"The City of Maywood's water is provided directly by three
Mutual Water Companies, although the water originates from the
Metropolitan Water District. For years, residents have
complained about the color, taste and smell of their drinking
water."
2)The author of the bill reports that, "Often water coming out
of the tap will be malodorous and have the color of iced tea.
Regardless of whether the water violates drinking water
standards, the cosmetic problems make the water undrinkable
and force the residents of the community to purchase bottled
water."
AB 890
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3)The mutual water companies have acknowledged in a letter to
the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials
Committee that the water they deliver may be "off-colored" but
that any discoloration was merely "an aesthetic issue" and
that the discoloration clears up after the water is allowed to
run for a few minutes. The water companies have repeatedly
advised the residents that the problem is in the pipes within
the homes; many residents who have gone through the very
expensive and inconvenient process of re-piping their entire
house to find that the problem was not corrected.
4)According to DPH, manganese has been detected in two of the
water systems as high as 130 parts per billion (ppb) and 260
ppb, respectively; the secondary maximum contaminant load is
set at 50 ppb. While manganese is not a primary drinking
water contaminant, manganese still renders Maywood's water
undrinkable.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
FN: 0002160