California Water Views

Water affordability in California is becoming an increasingly complex challenge as rising costs are driven by aging infrastructure, climate pressures and stricter water quality requirements. Investments in system upgrades, along with the need to address emerging contaminants like PFAS, are placing upward pressure on rates—costs that are ultimately passed on to customers. At the same time, while tap water remains relatively inexpensive, many households—particularly in disadvantaged and smaller communities—face growing difficulty managing their bills.

On April 10, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This long-awaited regulation sets forth enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for PFAS for the first time and is expected to require significant treatment infrastructure investment for many public water systems across the country. Given the breadth of the challenges ahead, the EPA is providing an extended implementation timeline that incorporates initial monitoring and ...

On January 6, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its Final Rule, listed at 88 FR 986, updating the maximum civil monetary penalties that may be assessed for violations of environmental statutes. This annual update is required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. This is the seventh annual adjustment under that act.

The update is designed to reflect inflation in order to maintain the deterrent effect of statutes providing civil monetary penalties, and is based on a formula that factors in the consumer price ...

On July 1, 2022 a panel of the Ninth Circuit issued a superseding opinion in California River Watch v. City of Vacaville, Appeal No. 20-16605, withdrawing its previous opinion in the same case and reaching the opposite result. The case is a rare example of a court reversing itself, and has important implications for water suppliers in California and nationwide.

In California River Watch, the plaintiff sought to impose RCRA liability on a water supplier based on the presence of hexavalent chromium in the water it supplied to customers, despite the fact that the water complied with the ...

On October 18, 2021, the Biden-Harris administration announced an updated government-wide “comprehensive approach” to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a set of man-made chemicals that are widely used in a variety of consumer and industrial products, and which persist in the environment once released and may be linked to health impacts. The announcement identified several activities to address PFAS by eight federal agencies, as well as proposed funding in the forthcoming infrastructure bill for monitoring for PFAS compounds in drinking water through ...