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: August 22, 2012
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: August 31, 2012
URGENCY: Yes CONSULTANT:
Rachel Wagoner
Randy Pestor
SUBJECT : BEAR LAKE RESERVOIR: RECREATIONAL USE
SUMMARY :
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, as approved by the Senate (April 23, 2012, version) ,
exempts from this prohibition the Bear Lake Reservoir in Alpine
County until January 1, 2016, if certain conditions are met, and
requires the Lake Alpine Water Company to file a report on
recreational uses at Bear Lake by January 1, 2015, with the
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Department of Public Health.
This bill, as approved by the Assembly (August 22, 2012, version)
and subsequently referred to the Senate Environmental Quality
Committee pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10 , revises conditions that
the Lake Alpine Water Company must meet relating to water
treatment and monitoring, limits bodily contact in Bear Lake
Reservoir to no more than four months each year, and increases
penalties if the Company fails to comply with the bill's
requirements.
COMMENTS :
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 safety of the drinking
water. Bear Lake Reservoir has been operated by the Lake
Alpine Water Company under this dual usage and seeks to
continue the ability to swim in the water, while benefitting
from that reservoir as a source of drinking water. There are
water standards in place which are overseen and approved by
the Department of Public Health (DPH).
SB 1063 was referred to Senate Environmental Quality Committee
pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10 because August 22, 2012,
amendments in the Assembly: a) change the water treatment
from ozonation or ultra violet disinfection to filtration with
a micro or ultra filtration system rated to 0.1 micron or
less, b) increase monitoring requirements and require
monitoring no less than three times during the time when
bodily contact is allowed, c) allow bodily contact no more
than four months each year, d) require increased monitoring
reporting, and e) increase penalties if the Company fails to
comply with the bill's requirements.
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
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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 the pathogenic organism of greatest concern mainly because
it is extremely resistant to conventional methods of
disinfection such as chlorination, is difficult to detect
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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
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 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 (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 are similar to SB 1063 as
approved by the Senate.
The above exemption granted by AB 1934 to the Bear Lake
Reservoir sunsetted 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 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.
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.
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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 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 of 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.
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