Cal. HSC § 116688 — California Code / Code hsc / Division 104 / Part 12 / Chapter 4 / Article 9 / Section 116688
Section 116688
Status: in_force

(a) For the purposes of this section, “testing program” means a program that provides domestic well testing for one or more primary or secondary drinking water contaminants by a laboratory accredited by the state to conduct drinking water sampling and analysis, that is offered free of charge to the owner of a domestic well or a resident of a rental property served by a domestic well, and that was established by, or receives funding from, the state board or a regional water quality control board.

(b) (1) An owner of a domestic well that serves a rental property that is within the boundaries of a testing program shall participate in the testing program, to the extent that the testing program has capacity, and shall do all of the following:

(A) (i) Request testing for all primary and secondary drinking water contaminants for which testing is provided by the testing program.

(ii) The domestic well owner may request testing for contaminants of emerging concern if offered by the testing program.

(B) Request regular testing as frequently as the testing program recommends, within the capacity of the testing program.

(C) Provide all necessary consent for the testing and for submission of testing results by the accredited laboratory to the state board, to any relevant database maintained by the state board, or to the local health officer or other relevant local agency, depending on the testing program’s procedures for sharing testing data.

(2) If a domestic well that serves a rental property is located within the boundaries of more than one testing program, the owner of the domestic well shall be required to participate in only one testing program at a time.

(3) If the owner of a domestic well that serves a rental property does not qualify for a testing program but a resident of the rental property does, the owner shall participate in the testing program on the resident’s behalf, to the extent allowed by the testing program.

(c) (1) The state board shall post information regarding applicable testing programs on its internet website. The information shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(A) The boundaries of the testing program.

(B) Qualifications for participating in the testing program.

(C) Information on how to participate in the testing program.

(D) The duty of an owner of a domestic well that serves a rental property to comply with the requirements of this section.

(E) Information on how to read and understand test results.

(F) Information on how domestic well users can access safe drinking water, including through programs offered by the state board, regional water quality control boards, or other state agencies.

(2) The state board shall inform all counties within the boundaries of a testing program of the presence of the testing program and of the information described in paragraph (1), and shall encourage the relevant local health officers or other relevant local agencies to share this information with the owners of domestic wells and residents of rental properties served by domestic wells, within the boundaries of the testing program.

(3) The state board and the regional water quality control boards may partner with local agencies and community organizations to spread awareness and educate domestic well owners and residents of rental properties served by domestic wells about testing programs and the requirements of this section.

(d) Within 10 days of receiving test results from a testing program, the owner of a domestic well that serves a rental property shall ensure that the test results, and the information on how to read and understand test results posted by the board pursuant to subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), are provided to current residents of the rental property.

(e) If the test results collected pursuant to this section demonstrate an exceedance of any primary drinking water standard, and the owner of the domestic well or a resident served by the domestic well is eligible for the provision of safe drinking water under a program identified pursuant to subparagraph (F) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), the domestic well owner shall provide safe drinking water under that program to residents served by the domestic well.

(f) An owner of a domestic well shall not impose any charge, or increase any fee, rent, or other charge imposed, on any resident solely as a result of the requirements of this section.

(g) This section does not impose any new obligation or requirement on a testing program.