BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1063
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1063
AUTHOR: Gaines
AMENDED: April 9, 2012
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 16, 2012
URGENCY: Yes CONSULTANT:
Rachel Wagoner
SUBJECT : BEAR LAKE RESERVOIR: RECREATIONAL USE
SUMMARY :
1) Existing law 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 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 at
Bear Lake by January 1, 2015, with the Department of Public
Health.
COMMENTS :
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3) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, SB 1063 would
re-authorize Bear Lake Reservoir's exemption to be used for
drinking water while still allowing bodily contact, with
appropriate measures in place to ensure the safety of the
drinking water. Bear Lake Reservoir has been operating under
this dual usage and seeks to continue their ability to swim in
the water, while still reaping the benefits of a large source
of drinking water. There are water standards in place which
are overseen and approved by the Department of Public Health
(DPH).
4) 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
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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 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 is a private 13 acre lake
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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 the members and guests of the 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 (this
information was provided by the Lake Alpine Water Company
report and is noted that it was collected through interviews
with BVRI residents).
AB 1934 (Leslie) Chapter 374, Statutes of 2004, exempted Bear
Lake Reservoir from the bodily contact prohibition, allowing
bodily contact under specified conditions:
Requirements included:
a) Complete water treatment including coagulation,
flocculation, sedimentation, filtration and
disinfection in compliance with department regulations
before being used for domestic purposes. The
disinfection shall include ozonation or ultraviolet
disinfection capable of inactivating organism such as
giardia and cryptosporidium;
b) Monitoring for total coliform bacteria, which
includes E coli and fecal coliform at the reservoir
intake;
c) Compliance with DPH regulation;
d) Any additional conditions and restrictions
adopted by the operating agency or DPH;
e) Lake Alpine Water Company to submit a report to
the Legislature and DPH on the recreational uses at
Bear Lake Reservoir and on the treatment at the
reservoir. The report must include:
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i. The level and type of
recreation at the reservoir;
ii. The levels of methyl
tertiary butyl ether in the reservoir;
iii. A summary of the monitoring
in the Bear Lake Reservoir watershed for
giardia and cryptosporidium;
iv. The sanitary survey of the
watershed and water quality monitoring plan;
v. An evaluation of
recommendations relating to removal and
inactivation of cryptosporidium and giardia;
vi. Annual reports provided to
the department as required by the water
permit issued by DPH;
vii. An evaluation of the impact
on source water quality due to recreational
activities;
viii. The reservoir management
plan and operation plan;
ix. The annual water reports
submitted to the consumers each year.
The above exemption granted by AB 1934 to the Bear Lake
Reservoir sunsetted on January 1, 2007.
SB 577 (Gaines) of 2011 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 the Lake Alpine Water
Company notifying them that they were in violation of Section
115825 (b), Article 1, Chapter 5 of the Health and Safety
Code, prohibiting bodily contact.
The Lake Alpine Water Company responded to the letter by
prohibiting bodily contact in 2011 and submitting the
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requisite report to the Legislature.
The report submitted 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, they 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. In addition the Lake
Alpine Water Company 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 the requirements under AB 1934 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. The
Lake Alpine Water Company makes no mention in its 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 has such a small
concentration of bodily contact visitors and has not had
levels or E. coli or fecal coliform to warrant monitoring for
cryptosporidium under federal regulation and the DPH permit.
Based on this data, the additional disinfection may not be
deemed necessary by DPH. However, should there be an outbreak
of cryptosporidium, the current filtration system may not be
sufficient to inactivate a significant outbreak of the
pathogen, especially if recreational activities on the Bear
Lake Reservoir increase in the future. As this community is
looking to increase development, it is very possible that
recreational activities would increase in the future.
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1) SB 1063 compared to previous exemption efforts, and amendments
needed .
SB 1063 makes several changes to the requirements that were
previously approved by the Legislature in granting the
exemption to Bear Lake Reservoir under AB 1934 (Leslie)
Chapter 374, Statutes of 2004, and by SB 577 (Gaines) of 2011.
a) AB 1934 and SB 577 required disinfection including
ozonation or ultraviolet capable of inactivating organisms
including virus, cryptosporidium, and giardia to levels
that comply with department regulations.
SB 1063 strikes this requirement.
AMENDMENT NEEDED : At the very least an amendment should be
made to require that the treatment system comply with all
state and federal laws and regulations, including, but not
limited to, the LT2 regulations. The amendment should also
state that nothing in this division shall limit the state
from imposing more stringent treatment standards and
require that the Lake Alpine Water Company report to DPH
annually about recreation activity and if the activity
increases DPH require a greater level of treatment.
b) AB 1934 and SB 577 required the Lake Alpine Water
Company to conduct a monitoring program for total coliform
bacteria, which includes E. coli and fecal coliform, at the
reservoir intake at a frequency determined by DPH.
SB 1063 strikes this requirement.
AMENDMENT NEEDED : This requirement should be re-instated
as a condition of bodily contact at Bear Lake in order to
ensure that proper monitoring of the indicator bacteria is
conducted.
c) AB 1934 and SB 577 assumed DPH's full authority to
require additional conditions and restrictions under DPH's
existing statutory/regulatory authority.
SB 1063 limits DPH's ability to institute additional
conditions by requiring DPH to consult with the entity
operating the water supply regarding the proposed
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conditions at least 60 days prior to the effective date of
the conditions and restrictions.
AMENDMENT NEEDED : DPH should be able to act swiftly to
require additional restrictions or conditions when needed
to ensure public health is protected and should not need to
consult the regulated entity prior to doing so. An
amendment is needed to strike this provision from the bill.
d) AB 1934 and SB 577 required that the Lake Alpine Water
Company submit a report to the Legislature and DPH on a
date certain.
SB 1063 only requires the report be submitted to DPH.
AMENDMENT NEEDED : The reporting requirement to the
Legislature should be reinstated to ensure that the
Legislature has an opportunity to review monitoring data
prior to reviewing an extension of the sunset provision.
e) AB 1934 and SB 577 required a summary of monitoring in
the Bear Lake Reservoir watershed for cryptosporidium and
giardia.
SB 1063 requires a summary of monitoring for bacteria.
AMENDMENT NEEDED : Neither giardia nor cryptosporidium are
bacteria: they are viruses. In essence this change removes
any requirement to monitor for pathogens that are not
bacteria. The previous monitoring requirement should be
reinstated.
f) AB 1934 and SB 577 required an evaluation of
recommendations relating to inactivation and removal of
cryptosporidium and giardia.
SB 1063 removes this requirement, presumably because they
have not had any indication that there has been an outbreak
of cryptosporidium or giardia.
AMENDMENT NEEDED : This requirement should be reinstated
upon the discretion of DPH as deemed necessary.
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g) AB 1934 and SB 577 required an evaluation of the impact
to source due to recreational activities and a summary of
any activities for operation of recreational uses and
facilities.
SB 1063 removes both of these requirements.
AMENDMENT NEEDED : It is unclear why these requirements
were stricken. They should be reinstated unless there is a
clear reason stated as to why not to report on recreation
activities.
h) AMENDMENT NEEDED : Because the Lake Alpine Water Company
failed to comply with the original statutory exemption
granted, language should be added to require DPH to
annually review the Bear Lake Reservoir at the end of the
recreation season and if there is any failure of compliance
the exemption should be removed at that time.
2) Consistency in policy . Taking the amendments outlined above
make this bill consistent with the previous exemption granted
to the Bear Lake Reservoir which sunsets in 2007, the
exemptions given to other reservoirs, and SB 577 (Gaines) last
year reauthorizing the exemption for Bear Lake Reservoir.
SOURCE : Lake Alpine Water Company
SUPPORT : Association of California Water Agencies
California Association of Harbor Masters and Port
Captains
California Marine Parks and Harbors Association
California Yacht Brokers Association
Marina Recreation Association
Northern California Marine Association
Western Boaters Safety Group
OPPOSITION : None on file