Small rural water systems in peril
Most people, including myself before I got into this business some years ago, take water for granted. You walk to the sink, pour a glass and drink it. You water your lawn, take a shower or wash your car. Many things can put our water supply in peril; drought, pollution, equipment breakdowns, and power outages. But the biggest threat to the small rural water system is the state of California.
California is a diverse state in many ways but in the context of this letter the variety and size of water systems is so disparate that comparing one to another, urban vs. rural, is inherently shortsighted, unproductive and contrary to the greater goal of ensuring safe potable water delivery and fire suppression capabilities to the general public.
Small water systems in rural non-industrialized areas should not be seen as equivalent to large, urban, heavily developed, and industrialized regions when creating regulations relevant to water quality and the capability to meet demand. This one-size-fits-all mentality does nothing to further goals related to water quality and long-term sustainability.
As an operator and manager serving a small water system in the Bishop area I would like to express my dismay about the seemingly never ending increase in regulatory requirements imposed by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the Department of Water Resources (DWR) on public water systems throughout the state of California.
While I understand that the mission of the SWRCB and the DWR is noble in trying to make sure that all people in the state have access to an adequate supply of safe drinking water, I do not support the uninformed determination that all regions of the state should be viewed as equal in terms of their raw water quality and ability to sustainably provide water to the public.
The financial health of small water systems can be severely impacted by being forced to comply with these state mandates and regulations. Complying with the state mandate that all systems be metered by 2032 has the potential to drive many small water systems into bankruptcy.
Many small systems have such limited budgets that they are unable to attract or retain operators, managers, secretaries or other qualified personnel.
The truth of the matter is that most water systems in our area, the Owens Valley Groundwater Basin (OVGB), are functioning without any operators at all. There just aren’t people out there that are willing to take on these jobs. A big part of the reason is that the SWRCB is creating so many new regulations, water quality testing requirements, drought and conservation reports, lead service line inspections and replacements, mandatory metering requirements, and so on, that it will drive away anyone considering a career in the water distribution/treatment field.
Small water systems with fewer than 3,300 customers should be exempt from these regulations.
As an example, a few years ago the state passed the Sustainable Ground Water Management Act (SGMA) and forced compliance on thousands of small water systems. Faced with the specter of being taxed by the state for noncompliance, we were forced to spend millions of dollars and years of effort to develop Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) and the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP).
In the case of the OVGB, we were forced into compliance because the DWR classified our basin as moderate priority. This forced a multiyear effort to persuade the 13 local eligible agencies to form a combined GSA instead of facing bankruptcy by writing individual GSPs. Thus, the Owens Valley Groundwater Authority (OVGA) was born.
After the OVGA taxed all the member agencies to raise money to develop the GSP, the OVGA hired consultants and began work on the GSP to the tune of
$750,000.00. Midway through GSP development the DWR changed horses in mid-stream and decided to reclassify the OVGB as low priority obviating the need for our basin to come into compliance with SGMA in the first place. Too late, the time, money and effort were already spent.
This type of schizophrenic decision-making is all too common from state agencies and leads to great hardship for the small water system.
Now we see regulation after regulation being promulgated by the state leaving us wondering what is the point and where does it end.
There are two reasons for writing this. First is to inform those in the general public who care about the well being and the future of their water supply.
The second, and perhaps more importantly, is to solicit the input, participation and support of local people that are directly involved with and employed by or volunteering with small public water systems. You are the ones who are directly impacted by the barrage of mandates, regulations, and requirements from the SWRCB that besiege us continuously.
I for one am tired of the never ending quest on the part of the ruling party in the state of California to control every aspect of our existence. Crushing the life out of small water systems takes it too far.
My job as a manager is to ensure the long-term viability of my water system and to make sure that my constituents are provided with safe delicious tasting water, a sustainable supply of water and adequate water to suppress domestic and wild land fires.
I am in the middle of communicating my concerns in the form of a protest to the SWRCB. I need help. I am asking that all local water system managers, operators, members of the public, Inyo County supervisors, city representatives and council members join me in supporting this effort.
The next step the state is taking to achieve total control of your water is to try to force consolidation of our individual systems with entities like the city of Bishop, the county and other government-controlled agencies. If you don’t believe me, ask the city of Bishop or residents of the Brookside Estates Mutual Water company.
Please contact me if you want to help.
(Terry Tye is the general manager of a public water system in West Bishop and a Grade D2 Water Distribution Operator (Operator #40170) certified by the state of California State Water Resources Control Board.)