BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 930
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|Author: |Gaines |
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|Version: |3/28/2016 |Hearing |4/6/2016 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Rachel Machi Wagoner |
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SUBJECT: Bear Lake 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.
2) 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.).
3) 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.
4) Exempts from the above prohibition the Bear Lake Reservoir in
Alpine County until January 1, 2016, and requires the Lake
Alpine Water Company to file a report on the recreational uses
SB 930 (Gaines) Page 2 of ?
at Bear Lake by January 1, 2015, with the Department of Public
Health (DPH).
This bill: extends the sunset date for the bodily contact
exemption for Bear Lake Reservoir from January 1, 2016 to January
1, 2022 and provides that the above reference report be submitted
biennially.
SB 930 (Gaines) Page 3 of ?
Background
1) 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 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 percent 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) 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
Valley Lake. MWD information indicates that "Cryptosporidium is
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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 CDC, infection with cryptosporidium may have
contributed to premature deaths of immunosuppressed individuals
in these outbreaks.
2) 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).
Comments
1) Purpose of Bill. The author states that the exemption provided
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by previous legislation has reached its sunset and the
recreational use of Bear Lake Reservoir is set to expire January
1, 2017.
It is the desire of the author and sponsors (who represent the
residents utilizing the Bear Lake Reservoir) that the current
exemption from the bodily contact prohibition be continued.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 1934 (Leslie, Chapter 374, Statutes of 2004) exempted Bear
Lake Reservoir from the bodily contact prohibition. The
statutory exemption sunsetted January 1, 2007.
SB 577 (Gaines, 2011) would have reinstated the statutory
exemption without a sunset date. A May 2, 2011, Senate
Environmental Quality Committee hearing on this bill was
canceled 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 §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.
SB 1063 (Gaines, 2012) would have exempted Bear Lake Reservoir
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.
Governor Brown vetoed SB 1063 stating, "Unfortunately, the
Department of Public Health believes that the water treatment
requirements in this bill are not feasible and ineffective, and
therefore the operation of the reservoir as a means to provide
safe drinking water would be put at risk. I urge the author and
sponsors to work with the Department to find a solution that
allows for recreational swimming alongside effectively treated
safe drinking water."
SB 930 (Gaines) Page 6 of ?
SB 14 (Gaines, Chapter 172, Statutes of 2013) addressed the
Governor's concerns regarding the feasibility and effectiveness
of water treatment requirements in SB 1063 and reinstated the
exemption from the bodily contact prohibition until January 1,
2017 and required an additional report be submitted by January
1, 2015.
SOURCE: Bear Valley Residents, Inc.
Bear Valley Homeowner's Association
County of Alpine, Board of Supervisors
Lake Alpine Water Company
SUPPORT: None received
OPPOSITION: None received
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