BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 143
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|Author: |Stone |
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|Version: |1/27/2015 |Hearing |4/15/2015 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant:|Rachel Machi Wagoner |
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Subject: Diamond Valley Reservoir: recreational use
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 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. (Health and Safety Code §115825 et seq.).
2. Under the federal Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water
Treatment Rule (LT2 rule), supplements existing regulations
by targeting additional Cryptosporidium treatment
requirements to higher risk systems. This rule also 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:
Exempts from this prohibition Diamond Valley Reservoir (also
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referred to as Diamond Valley Lake) in Riverside County from the
bodily contact prohibition and specifically allows bodily
contact with the water by any participant under certain
conditions.
Background
Diamond Lake Reservoir. Diamond Valley Lake is southern
California's largest drinking water storage reservoir, completed
in 2000. It is an 800,000 acre foot reservoir that nearly
doubles southern California's surface storage capacity, and
helps secure six months of emergency storage southwest of the
San Andres fault. The reservoir was built and is owned and
operated by the Metropolitan Water District (MWD).
Comments
1. Purpose of Bill.
According to the author, SB 143 will add new economic
stimulus, jobs and expanded recreational opportunities for
the residents of Riverside County.
The author states that the MWD manages Diamond Valley Lake,
and maintains several recreational activities including
hiking trails around the lake. While the activities in place
do add to the recreational options for Western Riverside
County, they are only a fraction of what was originally
promised to the residents. Because MWD does not allow bodily
contact at Diamond Valley Lake, visitors are not allowed to
swim, jet-ski, or use certain types of boats or kayaks.
The author asserts that SB 143 would simply allow residents
and visitors to fully enjoy Diamond Valley Lake, by allowing
for bodily contact. The language within SB 143 clearly
states that bodily contact cannot happen until the proper
water treatment options for coagulation, flocculation,
sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection are in place, in
order to protect the vital water supply.
2. Bodily Contact in Drinking Water.
Over 65% of the population of the United States receives
drinking water from surface water sources. Many of these
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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 human activity for several reasons:
A. Enteric pathogens, including bacteria, viruses
and protozoa may be shed into water during recreation
from residual fecal material and from accidental fecal
release. Inputs resulting from human contact will
increase pathogen concentrations in the reservoir and
thus may increase health risks to downstream consumers
receiving this water.
B. A single person sheds billions of fecal bacteria
in a single day and water treatment plants are
engineered to remove 99 to 99.99% of pathogenic
organisms, not 100%;
C. Unlike chemical contaminants, pathogenic
organisms that survive the treatment process can
multiply in the water distribution system and, more
importantly, in the bodies of water, leading to
infection, illness and death of water consumers;
D. Birds and wild animals also introduce potential
pathogens to the water, but pathogens from humans are
more likely to ultimately be infectious to other humans
than are pathogens originating from birds or animals.
1. Exemptions of California Reservoirs.
Over the last 20 years, there has been legislation exempting
specific reservoirs (in the case of San Diego - the County)
from the bodily contact prohibition. These exceptions are
the County of San Diego, Sly Park Reservoir, Modesto
Reservoir, Naciemento Reservoir, Canyon Lake Reservoir and
Bear Lake Reservoir. These reservoirs have unique
circumstances relating to treatment, location, population
served and climate that have decreased the risk associated
with bodily contact in the reservoir.
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Additionally, in all cases the water system operating the
reservoir and providing treatment to the drinking water are
responsible (and have accepted responsibility) for ensuring
that drinking water meets drinking water standards and public
health is protected.
2. 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.
MWD has studied water quality issues associated with body
contact recreation at its Diamond 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 1 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 Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, infection with cryptosporidium may have
contributed to premature deaths of immunosuppressed
individuals in these outbreaks.
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3. Added Community Benefit.
It appears to be clear that the Diamond Valley Reservoir was
not ideally built, nor do adequate treatment, climate or
remote location circumstances exist to authorize an exemption
from the bodily contact statute.
However, in a Los Angeles Times article from May 17, 1995,
when this reservoir was being proposed, it seems that it was
communicated to the community that a wide array of
recreational activities would be made available.
"When completed in four years, it will include an
Olympic-size pool, nearly 500 camp sites, slips for more than
250 boats, launching facilities to quickly handle up to 900
boats, 80 miles of hiking and biking trails and a commercial
water park. In addition to the reservoir, the 20-square-mile
project will include two other man-made lakes open to
fishing, sailing, swimming and hunting."
Allowing bodily contact in this reservoir would
inappropriately risk the public health of nearly 2 million
people in Southern California. However, the question arises,
has MWD kept its commitment for other recreational areas to
this community?
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 14 (Gaines) Chapter 172, Statutes of 2013, exempts Bear Lake
Reservoir (Alpine County) from the state prohibition on bodily
contact recreation use in a reservoir used for domestic water
uses and establishes standards to be met, including water
treatment, monitoring, and reporting requirements.
SB 1063 (Gaines, 2012) would have exempted Bear Lake Reservoir
(Alpine County) from the state prohibition on bodily contact
recreation use in a reservoir used for domestic water uses and
establishes standards to be met, including water treatment,
monitoring, and reporting requirements. SB 1063 was vetoed by
Governor Brown.
SB 1251(Morrow, 2004) would have exempted Diamond Valley
Reservoir (also referred to as Diamond Valley Lake) in Riverside
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County from the bodily contact prohibition and specifically
allows bodily contact with the water by any participant under
certain conditions.)
SOURCE: Senator Stone
SUPPORT:
None on file
OPPOSITION:
Association of California Water Agencies
Burbank Water and Power
California Municipal Utilities Association
Calleguas Municipal Water District
Central Basin Water Association
City of Torrance
Clean Water Action
Cucamonga Valley Water District
Eastern Municipal Water District
Foothill Municipal Water District
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Las Virgenes Municipal Water District
Mesa Water District
Municipal Water District of Orange County
Pasadena Water and Power
San Diego County Water Authority
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Three Valleys Municipal Water District
Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District
Walnut Valley Water District
Western Municipal Water District
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: None on file
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: MWD states that "during the course
of considering appropriate recreational activities at Diamond
Valley Lake, before the reservoir was placed into service,
Metropolitan conducted a comprehensive scientific evaluation of
the public health implications of allowing body-contact
recreation at Diamond Valley Lake. The assessment back then,
and most recently, demonstrates there is ample scientific
evidence documenting the degradation of water quality in lakes
and reservoirs permitting body-contact recreation. Body-contact
recreation will add disease causing microorganisms to the water
which would increase the risk of waterborne disease to
downstream consumers. Additional supplemental disinfection at
water treatment facilities near Diamond Valley Lake would be
required to maintain baseline public health risk levels. By
excluding body-contact recreation at Diamond Valley Lake, as was
decided by Metropolitan's Board in 1998, Metropolitan has
provided a high-quality boating experience while protecting the
public health of downstream water consumers."
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