(a) As a condition of its operating permit, every public water system shall annually prepare a consumer confidence report and mail or deliver a copy of that report to each customer, other than an occupant, as defined in Section 799.28 of the Civil Code, of a recreational vehicle park. A public water system in a recreational vehicle park with occupants as defined in Section 799.28 of the Civil Code shall prominently display on a bulletin board at the entrance to or in the office of the park, and make available upon request, a copy of the report. The report shall include all of the following information:
(1) The source of the water purveyed by the public water system.
(2) A brief and plainly worded definition of the terms “maximum contaminant level,” “primary drinking water standard,” and “public health goal.”
(3) If any regulated contaminant is detected in public drinking water supplied by the system during the past year, the report shall include all of the following information:
(A) The level of the contaminant found in the drinking water, and the corresponding public health goal and primary drinking water standard for that contaminant.
(B) Any violations of the primary drinking water standard that have occurred as a result of the presence of the contaminant in the drinking water and a brief and plainly worded statement of health concerns that resulted in the regulation of that contaminant.
(C) The public water system’s address and phone number to enable customers to obtain further information concerning contaminants and potential health effects.
(4) Information on the levels of unregulated contaminants, if any, for which monitoring is required pursuant to state or federal law or regulation.
(5) Disclosure of any variances or exemptions from primary drinking water standards granted to the system and the basis therefor.
(b) On or before July 1, 1998, and every three years thereafter, public water systems serving more than 10,000 service connections that detect one or more contaminants in drinking water that exceed the applicable public health goal, shall prepare a brief written report in plain language that does all of the following:
(1) Identifies each contaminant detected in drinking water that exceeds the applicable public health goal.
(2) Discloses the numerical public health risk, determined by the office, associated with the maximum contaminant level for each contaminant identified in paragraph (1) and the numerical public health risk determined by the office associated with the public health goal for that contaminant.
(3) Identifies the category of risk to public health, including, but not limited to, carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and acute toxicity, associated with exposure to the contaminant in drinking water, and includes a brief plainly worded description of these terms.
(4) Describes the best available technology, if any is then available on a commercial basis, to remove the contaminant or reduce the concentration of the contaminant. The public water system may, solely at its own discretion, briefly describe actions that have been taken on its own, or by other entities, to prevent the introduction of the contaminant into drinking water supplies.
(5) Estimates the aggregate cost and the cost per customer of utilizing the technology described in paragraph (4), if any, to reduce the concentration of that contaminant in drinking water to a level at or below the public health goal.
(6) Briefly describes what action, if any, the local water purveyor intends to take to reduce the concentration of the contaminant in public drinking water supplies and the basis for that decision.
(c) Public water systems required to prepare a report pursuant to subdivision (b) shall hold a public hearing for the purpose of accepting and responding to public comment on the report. Public water systems may hold the public hearing as part of any regularly scheduled meeting.
(d) The department shall not require a public water system to take any action to reduce or eliminate any exceedance of a public health goal.
(e) Enforcement of this section does not require the department to amend a public water system’s operating permit.
(f) Pending adoption of a public health goal by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 116365, and in lieu thereof, public water systems shall use the national maximum contaminant level goal adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for the corresponding contaminant for purposes of complying with the notice and hearing requirements of this section.
(g) This section is intended to provide an alternative form for the federally required consumer confidence report as authorized by 42 U.S.C. Section 300g-3(c).
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 755, Sec. 12. Effective January 1, 1997.)