AB 1529, as amended, Thurmond. Cross-connection control and backflow protection.
Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health, including, but not limited to, conducting research, studies, and demonstration projects relating to the provision of a dependable, safe supply of drinking water, enforcing the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, adopting regulations, and conducting studies and investigations to assess the quality of private domestic water wells.
Existing law requires any person who owns a public water system to ensure that the system does certain things, including, but not limited to, that it will not be subject to backflow under normal operating conditions. Existing law, to ensure that testing and maintenance of backflow prevention devices are performed by persons qualified to do testing and maintenance, authorizes local health officers to maintain programs for certification of backflow prevention device testers and requires the certification program to be consistent with backflow protection regulations adopted by the state board. A violation of these provisions, or of an order by a local health officer pursuant to these provisions, is a misdemeanor.
Existing regulations establish standards for a backflow prevention device and cross-connection control.
This bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2020, to update its backflow protection and cross-connection control regulations and to set forth uniform, statewide standards for the certification of backflow prevention device testers and cross-connection control specialists, as provided. The bill would require a public water system to implement a cross-connection control program that complies with applicable regulations and the standards set forth by the state board.
The bill would require valid and current certifications for cross-connection inspection and testing or backflow prevention device inspection, testing, and maintenance that were determined by the State Department of Public Health to demonstrate competency before January 1, 2016, to be approved California-specific certifications either until the state board promulgates regulations for certified backflow prevention device testers and cross-connection control specialists, or until January 1, 2020, whichever comes first. The bill would, under certain conditions, prohibit a water supplier from refusing to recognize statewide certifications that meet standards set by regulations of the state board.
