On July 24, 2019, Governor Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (“SB”) 200. SB 200 establishes the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund (the “Fund”) to assist local water suppliers with providing clean drinking water to customers. In signing the bill, Governor Newsom highlighted that over one million Californians—predominantly low income communities—lack access to safe drinking water. The Fund is designed to help provide safe drinking water to all Californians.

SB 200 allocates 5% of annual proceeds from the state’s greenhouse gas emissions program to the Fund, up to $130 million annually. The State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB” or the “Board”) is authorized to disburse funds that achieve the state’s goal of providing safe drinking water to its residents. The Board has until July 2020 to develop a fund expenditure plan and associated policies.

Fund expenditures may be applied toward various needs, including: providing a short-term supply of replacement water; technical assistance with planning, repair, or operations; replacement of pipes or fixtures; or system consolidation. By 2021, the Board is additionally tasked with mapping aquifers at a high risk of containing contaminants.

SB 200 also requires public water systems to include in technical reports to the SWRCB information on technical, financial, sustainability, and information related to achieving affordability and accessibility. SWRCB is empowered to take action to administer or consolidate local water systems that demonstrate “difficulty in maintaining technical, managerial, and financial capacity.”

Public water suppliers across California should take note of the additional funding opportunities for safe drinking water projects under SB 200. We will continue to keep you updated as the regulations implementing SB 200 are developed. If you have and questions, please contact Barbara A. Brenner at barbara@whitebrennerllp.com, Kerry Fuller at kerry@chuchwellwhite.com, or Churchwell White LLP at (916) 468-0950.