BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 14|
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CONSENT
Bill No: SB 14
Author: Gaines (R)
Amended: 2/19/13
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/3/13
AYES: Hill, Gaines, Calderon, Corbett, Fuller, Hancock,
Jackson, Leno, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Bear Lake Reservoir: recreational use
SOURCE : Bear Valley Residents, Inc.
Lake Alpine Water Company
DIGEST : This bill reinstates, until January 1, 2017, the
exemption for Bear Lake Reservoir. This exemption allows Lake
Alpine Water Company to continue their filtration and use of the
lake for drinking water while it is also used for recreational
activities.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Declares state policy that multiple uses should be made of all
public water in the state consistent with public health and
safety and prohibits recreational use in which there is bodily
contact with water in a reservoir in which water is stored for
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domestic use. Statutory exceptions to this prohibition have
been granted for specified reservoirs (San Diego County
reservoirs, Modesto Reservoir, Nacimiento Reservoir, Sly Park
Reservoir and Canyon Lake Reservoir). These reservoirs must
meet specific standards and criteria set in statute.
2.Supplements existing regulations under the federal Long Term 2
Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2 rule), by targeting
additional cryptosporidium treatment requirements to higher
risk systems.
3.Contains provisions to reduce risks from uncovered finished
water reservoirs and to ensure that systems maintain microbial
protection when they take steps to decrease the formation of
disinfection byproducts that result from chemical water
treatment.
This bill:
1.Exempts from the prohibition of recreational use the Bear Lake
Reservoir in Alpine County until January 1, 2017, if specified
requirements are met:
A. Water subsequently receives complete treatment and
disinfection;
B. The Lake Alpine Water Company conducts a monitoring
program for cryptosporidium, giardia, and total coliform
bacteria at the reservoir intake and at post-treatment at
least three times during the period when bodily contact is
allowed;
C. Operation of the reservoir is in compliance with
Department of Public Health (DPH) regulations; and
D. Maximum of four months per year allowed for bodily
contact.
2.Requires Lake Alpine Water Company to file a report on
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recreational uses and the water treatment program at Bear Lake
Reservoir with the Legislature and the DPH by January 1, 2016.
3.Requires the DPH to annually review monitoring and reporting
data from the reservoir.
4.Authorizes the DPH, if it finds a failure to comply with
provision of this bill to:
A. Terminate the exemption pursuant to this bill;
B. Suspend or revoke any permit issued pursuant to the
California Safe Drinking Water Act (Act); and
C. Deem the failure to comply a violation of the Act
and subject to penalties.
Background
Bodily Contact in Drinking Water: Over 65% of the population of
the United States receives drinking water from surface water
sources. Many of these surface water systems rely on protected
sources, off limits for human activity to ensure safe water
supply. California law prohibits bodily contact in drinking
water reservoirs because human activity on and near water adds
an element of risk to the consumers of the water. Short of
sewage discharge, human body contact with the water is the most
threatening such human activity for specified reasons.
Pathogens of particular concern with bodily contact:
Microorganisms such as viruses, giardia and cryptosporidium are
of special concern when there is bodily contact with drinking
water supplies because traditional disinfection methods are not
as effective at treating or inactivating organisms.
The Metropolitan Water District (MWD) studied water quality
issues associated with body contact recreation at its Diamond
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Valley Lake. MWD information indicates that "cryptosporidium is
the pathogenic organism of greatest concern mainly because it is
extremely resistant to conventional methods of disinfection such
as chlorination, is difficult to detect through monitoring, and
causes cryptosporidiosis." Cryptosporidiosis is a disease of
the intestinal tract and has been known to cause disease in
humans since 1976. Cryptosporidium lives in a protective shell
that is referred to as an oocyst, and allows it to survive
various environmental conditions and be resistant to
disinfection. Sources of contamination at recreational waters
are the individuals using those waters for recreation when
constituents of residual fecal matter may be washed off the body
on contact with water. Infants, young children, and others may
also contribute more significantly to contamination by
accidental fecal releases.
MWD studies have shown an increased risk to consumers with body
contact recreation, ranging from 20 to 140 times higher than the
current cryptosporidium risk of one infection per about 28,000
people.
Waterborne cryptosporidium outbreaks have occurred in both large
and small communities. A large outbreak occurred in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin in 1993, affecting an estimated 403,000 people.
According to the CDC, infection with cryptosporidium may have
contributed to premature deaths of immunosuppressed individuals
in these outbreaks.
Bear Lake Reservoir: Bear Lake Reservoir is a private 13 acre
lake surrounded by lodge pole and white fir forest and
residential homes in the unincorporated community of Bear Valley
in Alpine County. Access to the lake is provided by three small
sandy beaches. All other shoreline is private property or
earthen dam. The weather allows for recreational use of the
lake from June through September. The lake is posted as private
and is used by members and guests of Bear Valley Residents
Incorporated (BVRI). Uses of the lake include wading, swimming,
sailing, windsurfing, paddling and fishing. Dogs and other pets
are not allowed in the lake or at any of the access points. The
number of visitors averages 10 per day with a maximum day of 50
throughout the summer (based on information provided by the Lake
Alpine Water Company report noting that it was collected through
interviews with BVRI residents).
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AB 1934 (Leslie, Chapter 374, Statutes of 2004), exempted Bear
Lake Reservoir from the bodily contact prohibition, allowing
bodily contact under conditions that were similar to SB 1063
(Gaines, 2012) which was vetoed by the Governor.
SB 577 (Gaines, 2011) reinstated the statutory exemption without
a sunset date. A May 2, 2011, Senate Environmental Quality
Committee hearing on this bill was cancelled at the request of
the author. In reviewing the previous exemption granted, it was
found that the Lake Alpine Water Company had not complied with
AB 1934 by failing to compile and submit the required report to
the Legislature or DPH and by continuing to allow bodily contact
in the reservoir through 2010 without statutory authorization.
In June 2011, DPH issued a letter to Lake Alpine Water Company
notifying them that they were in violation of Health and Safety
Code Sec. 115825(b), prohibiting bodily contact.
Lake Alpine Water Company responded to the letter by prohibiting
bodily contact in 2011 and submitting the requisite report to
the Legislature.
The submitted report provided the requisite monitoring and
planning information except for information specific to
monitoring for giardia and cryptosporidium. According to Lake
Alpine Water Company's report, pursuant to the LT2 federal
regulation, the Company monitored for total fecal coliform and
E. coli. Because the annual average for E. coli is below
federal levels for monitoring requirements they did not pursue
the monitoring for cryptosporidium required by AB 1934. There
was no mention of monitoring data for giardia. Lake Alpine
Water Company conducts biweekly testing of fecal coliform and E.
coli, which are indicators for cryptosporidium and giardia and
provided the annual reports to DPH outlining that data.
The report notes that in 2005 a new microfiltration membrane
water treatment facility was completed. Lake Alpine Water
Company also chlorinates the water prior to distribution. While
the new water treatment facility does disinfect for giardia and
cryptosporidium to levels higher than required by the DPH
permit, the new plant did not comply with AB 1934 requirements
to provide a secondary form of either ultraviolet or ozonation
disinfection. This requirement was added to AB 1934 because
cryptosporidium is resistant to traditional treatments using
chlorination. Lake Alpine Water Company makes no mention in its
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report of conducting the above specified disinfection methods
and according to DPH, Lake Alpine Water Company does not conduct
either ultraviolet or ozonation disinfection.
According to the report, Bear Lake Reservoir has such a small
concentration of bodily contact visitors and has not had levels
of E. coli or fecal coliform to warrant monitoring for
cryptosporidium under federal regulation and the DPH permit. .
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/16/13)
Bear Valley Residents, Inc. (co-source)
Lake Alpine Water Company (co-source)
Association of California Water Agencies
California Water Association
County of Alpine
RM:ej 4/17/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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