Drinking Water Program

Last Update: July 10, 2008

CDPH's Drinking Water Program (DWP) is within the Division of Drinking Water and Environmental Management.  DWP regulates public drinking water systems, but it doesn't regulate bottled water or vended water -- these are regulated as food by CDPH's Food and Drug Branch.

DWP consists of three branches: (1) the Northern California Field Operations Branch, (2) the Southern California Field Operations Branch, and (3) the Technical Programs Branch.

[NOTE: For links to water conservation- and drought-related information, please visit the DWP's public drinking water systems website.]

Drinking Water Field Operations Branches

Here is a map of FOB districts and office contact information (PDF).

The FOBs are responsible for the enforcement of the federal and California Safe Drinking Water Acts (SDWAs) and the regulatory oversight of ~7,500 public water systems to assure the delivery of safe drinking water to all Californians. In this capacity, FOB staff perform field inspections, issue operating permits, review plans and specifications for new facilities, take enforcement actions for non-compliance with laws and regulations, review water quality monitoring results, and support and promote water system security. In addition, FOB staff are involved in funding infrastructure improvements, conducting source water assessments, and evaluating projects utilizing recycled treated wastewater.

FOB staff work with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the State Water Resources Control Board, Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs), and a wide variety of other parties interested in the protection of drinking water supplies. On the local level, FOB staff work with county health departments, planning departments, and boards of supervisors. Primacy has been delegated by CDPH to certain county health departments for regulatory oversight of small water systems, and FOB staff provide oversight, technical assistance, and training for the local primacy agency personnel.

Technical Programs Branch

The Technical Programs Branch is responsible for maintaining the scientific expertise of the drinking water program and for administering the Drinking Water Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the Small Water System Programs. It is composed of the Technical Operations Section, the Infrastructure Financing and Inftrastructure Funding Adminstration Sections, and the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit.

The Technical Operations Section

The Technical Operations Sections administers its programs through the following units.  Click on a link for contact information 

• The Operator Certification Unit is responsible for ensuring that individuals certified as drinking water treatment operators or as distribution system operators meet the educational competence required by law.

• The Water Treatment Device Certification Unit is responsible for ensuring that residental water treatment devices sold for purifying water meet appropriate standards.

• The Standards and Technology Unit maintains state-of-the-art technology expertise, develops monitoring and water quality regulations, and conducts special studies on contaminants in drinking water contaminants.  It also provides templates for public notification for water systems.

• The Recycled Water Unit develops water recycling criteria and regulations, and evaluates water recycling projects and makes recommendation to the RWQCBs about public health implications.

• The Policy Development Unit (PDU) administers the Drinking Water Treatment and Research Fund Program, which provides financial assistance to public water systems contaminated by gasoline oxygenates such as MTBE, and the Backflow Prevention Assembly Approval List (PDF), which identifies backflow prevention assemblies approved for use in California for service isolation. PDU also provides information and reports on fluoridation by public water systems. Contact person: Mark Bartson.

• PDU also oversees the Drinking Water Additives Program, which provides technical assistance regarding approval of chemical additives for drinking water treatment and development of test standards; prepares the Annual Compliance Report for the US EPA; and analyzes proposed drinking water-related legislation. Contact person: Mark Bartson.

• The Treatment Technology Unit reviews and evaluates new treatment technologies or expansion of operations of existing treatment technologies in drinking water and recycled water applications, and assists FOB staff in assessing proposed treatment facilities. Contact Person: Leah Walker, (916) 449-5600.

• The Section also coordinates the Drinking Water Source Assessment and Protection (DWSAP) Program of the SRF Program (see below), and for assisting the DWFOBs and LPAs in implementing source water assessment and protection measures.  Contact person: Mark Bartson.

Infrastructure Financing & Infrastructure Funding Adminstration Sections 

These sections administer funding programs through the following units and activities:

• The Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SDWSRF) Unit implements the SRF Program and administers portions of voter-approved funding initiatives from March 2000 (Proposition 13), November 2002 (Proposition 50), and November 2006 (Proposition 84)
• The Environmental Review Unit (ERU) is responsible for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act for drinking water permits and certain drinking water-related projects, acts as the "lead agency" for privately-owned public water systems, and coordinates the circulation and distribution of CEQA documents through the State Clearinghouse.
• The Technical Support Unit provides technical and TMF capacity development assistance, and administers the local primacy delegation program for small water systems.

Monitoring and Evaluation Unit

• MEU collects analytical results from laboratories, compiles, evaluates, and reports drinking water quality data from laboratories that monitor drinking water for public water systems.
• MEU disseminates data to FOB and other staff, preparing reports on findings and evaluations, and meets the US EPA's data reporting requirements under primacy.