[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6321293,"mediaKeyId","2350949-0bdbe3961b85954d5654eb75681fe009","parentId",2350949,"title","State Water Resources Control Board previews Cal Waters rollout; measurement rule (SB 88) updates to align with new platform","audioSeconds",3368,"startMs",0,"endMs",3368000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2350949-0bdbe3961b85954d5654eb75681fe009&start=0&end=3368","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2350949-0bdbe3961b85954d5654eb75681fe009/thumbnail_0.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6321293/California/State-Water-Resources-Control-Board-previews-Cal-Waters-rollout-measurement-rule-SB-88-updates-to-align-with-new-platform","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6321293-bf9aea41b149bfaef63ddd9c2964786b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770489630&Signature=J~83SM7Fxpm74BaidYE8kfMov7NpI4EbOvkm8c48~0Qcmb1zFos9VaON0y88zNsT6YfBW0pRLNA3fXql6dhQKp2knutdRM-KKdvD-v2LoMhtGUublnD1AAFW~l6u7hw2OLBMdigPQJv-hieI~7q4b22xm1T1Eh6W3f8wsYeLaSfldAUVxBzHQB47pnWZ~mel0l3C~OMCXxZ8E8NIC3X42b80Md9yPlu3J50dTUW6IGa735bpkJSV2-i8~0tEt~I37qG779S5TroqOSJXvzpAgBBQqcmfhqiqjzAz3qMmzwrGVFkvNa8-gMrraUPUn82kERjM7R3EuBNR-FxVXOnsTw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","State Water Resources Control Board","date","2025-02-20T03:52:11.777Z","article","State Water Resources Control Board staff presented technical details and a deployment timeline for Cal Waters — a new water-rights data and reporting platform — and outlined proposed changes to SB 88 measurement and reporting regulations intended to align with that platform.

Jeff Parks, product owner for Cal Waters, said the system will provide a single login and a consolidated user interface for water-rights reporters and their agents. He described a dashboard that highlights items “that the reporter would need to work on,” tabbed access to rights information, an integrated geospatial information system to plot points of diversion and places of use, support for spatial file uploads from consultants, and automated GIS attributes to reduce reporter burden.

The presentation said Cal Waters will also add an organization data structure so large holders (for example, multi-office federal agencies or consulting firms) can assign rights to branches, regional offices and staff. Staff said this change should make it easier for large organizations to see how they appear in the state database and to manage multiple records under one account.

Division staff described a digitization effort that has already converted more than 500,000 records to digital form, and noted the division estimates more than 7,000,000 records remain to be digitized. Staff said digitization is a two‑phase process: an initial minimal tagging to make documents searchable and a later, more granular metadata tagging step led by water‑rights experts to make documents retrievable by multiple criteria.

On SB 88 and measurement regulations, Pablo Ortiz, environmental scientist in the Division of Water Rights, and Sierra Kennison, an engineer with the division, outlined a regulation change package staff has developed to improve compliance and data usability. Staff said current regulations require diverters over 10 acre‑feet per year to measure diversions and submit annual measurement data, and that larger diverters (those over 10,000 acre‑feet per year or 30 cubic feet per second in summer) are subject to continuous public data posting requirements (telemetry). Ortiz said only about 20–23% of diverters submit usable measurement data under the current rules and that the division receives over 1,000 unique file formats each year, limiting staff’s ability to analyze the data.

Kennison summarized the regulation updates staff proposes to address those gaps: restructure and simplify the regulatory text for readability; require standardized file formats and templates through Cal Waters so uploaded measurement files are machine‑readable; remove the regulatory distinction between a “measuring device” and a “measurement method” (if it collects data it is a measuring device); align groundwater recordation reporting with the water year (October–September) rather than the calendar year; clarify who must provide continuous reporting (the presentation used the term “large diversion requirements” rather than telemetry); expand the list of eligible qualified professionals (adding hydrographers, water treatment and distribution operators); permit alternative compliance pathways where those provide equivalent or better data; and require reporters to register an email address in Cal Waters.

Staff said the proposed regulation package was submitted to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) and includes draft text, a statement of reasons and an economic impact assessment. OAL’s publication of the notice of proposed action would trigger a 45‑day public comment period, followed by a public hearing. Staff said they are targeting an effective date of October 1, 2025 for the updated measurement regulation to align with the reporting year and that the first reports affected by the new rule would be due on February 1, 2027.

Staff also described outreach and testing plans: an Upward Advisory Group (UAG) of water‑rights interests convened for iterative feedback (first meeting in September 2023, subsequent meetings including a live demo on February 5), and staff anticipates hands‑on UAG testing in May (subject to cybersecurity work). The timeline staff presented calls for refinement of the Cal Waters interface through July, enrollment of large/complex reporters before go‑live, a July go‑live where users can enroll, then ongoing enrollment and outreach through 2026 and beyond as digitization and tagging scale up.

Board members and the vice chair asked how non‑reporter members of the public, researchers and academia will access information. Staff said Cal Waters will include an electronic content management system to display scanned records and a data warehouse to support broader, documented access (including SQL access for advanced users), and that a public GIS map view will be available without login on day one. Staff cautioned that the system will not instantly fix legacy data quality and that improving historical records will be an ongoing effort over several years.

Why it matters: Cal Waters is intended to give regulators and the public more consistent, searchable, and machine‑readable water‑use and water‑rights data. Staff said standardized uploads and clearer measurement rules are central to using measurement data in modeling and water‑availability assessments.

Next steps noted by staff included public review of the SB 88 regulatory package during the OAL comment period and targeted UAG testing in May, with a planned enrollment go‑live in July and phased outreach and tagging to scale the digitization effort.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","State Water Resources Control Board Meeting - February 19, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","State Water Resources Control Board staff presented technical details and a deployment timeline for Cal Waters — a new water‑rights reporting platform — and outlined proposed changes to SB 88 measurement and reporting regulations to align with the platform.","taxTitle","State Water Resources Control Board, Agencies under Office of the Governor, Executive, California","taxId",16198,"location","California","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6321289,"Board adopts drinking‑water regulatory priorities; PFAS work listed as top priority",3111,3367000,6478000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2350949-0bdbe3961b85954d5654eb75681fe009&start=3367&end=6478","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2350949-0bdbe3961b85954d5654eb75681fe009/thumbnail_3367000.jpg","/articles/6321289/California/Board-adopts-drinkingwater-regulatory-priorities-PFAS-work-listed-as-top-priority","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6321289-1e8843b0fe019a03122dcbdf4b077c1b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770489630&Signature=MUQp98sNXkKht3INApNF0jHqKWNqFZcrllBlsr1Hp69J2lXCp2GVd80TOeJveJQgUwobXvQNb1Xkuk1T85dUNo6YlNYq2I0LKgqOibEL1Quo7N4X7DwgMIYXDa-COBJGNxT-ZXVM1muTbqF--ScloMjZJrS7-DdfiGsXOvc8rpa1rrxWnEd3nfL4inFo16vhC2hsIhNKl9X4uFKMD0ow2OxmqQtjs9UQG78R4hHjxgSFKfyG-1gEA7pWGMrew8JAReogpTCYXcQiWP0d81xj3DJ2eZWvdwKsTdZNqdniNJpCblAYNh29FRZwSYrsgBUq4ElZFdEPN05x5i57lkYmuA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The State Water Resources Control Board received the Division of Drinking Water’s annual regulatory priorities report and adopted a resolution under item 3 with change sheet number 2.

Darren (Paul) Hammis, deputy director for the Division of Drinking Water, introduced the division’s priorities and turned the briefing to a presenter identified as Ms. Hall. The division listed per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) rulemaking as its top priority for the year and described a two‑stage regulatory approach. Staff said stage 1 will align state regulations with the new federal PFAS primary drinking‑water regulations for primacy purposes with limited California adjustments and will place PFAS requirements in a new article in title 22. Stage 2 would evaluate a broader California‑specific approach, including a possible treatment‑technique approach relying on sentinel or indicator PFAS chemicals where enumerating thousands of chemicals is not feasible.

The division described monitoring and investigative work that informed the PFAS priority: earlier monitoring orders for wells in proximity to likely PFAS discharges, general orders for wells with prior detections, monitoring funded for disadvantaged communities, and collaboration with the California Regional Exposure (CARE) study. Staff said OEHHA issued public health goals for PFOA and PFOS in April and that U.S. EPA finalized a federal PFAS primary drinking‑water regulation. The division plans to request a public health goal for PFHxS and continue analytical method work including absorbable organic fluorine (AOF) and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) method validation. Staff said they plan a statewide monitoring order to all public water systems to supplement federal initial monitoring and to help identify PFAS analytes of concern in California.

Beyond PFAS, the division flagged several other planned or anticipated rulemaking projects: a combined rulemaking for disinfection‑byproduct MCLs (total trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids) after OEHHA updated public health goals; an arsenic review (currently an MCL of 10 μg/L with an OEHHA public health goal far lower), NDMA and other nitrosamines (method validation and potential monitoring orders), styrene, and combined cadmium/mercury MCL revisions. The division also described plans for revising detection limits for purposes of reporting (DLRs) for metals this spring and packaging other DLR updates later in the year.

The briefing included other program items: cross‑connection control policy completion (adopted December 2023), direct potable reuse regulations now in effect, lead and copper rule primacy and DLR work, microplastics studies, and a future rulemaking on on‑site treated nonpotable water for multifamily/mixed‑use buildings (legislative directive). The division noted statutory requirements under Health and Safety Code section 116365 to set MCLs “as close to the public health goal as is economically and technologically feasible” and described related prioritization and laboratory capacity work.

Public comment: An operator, Adam Wachtel, urged the board to prioritize “basic fundamentals,” citing recurring noncompliance with the total coliform rule and concerns that lead sampling frequency in groundwater differs from other metals sampling.

Vote at a glance: The board adopted the resolution under item 3 (change sheet number 2). A roll‑call sequence recorded five recorded ayes: Board member Maguire (Aye), Board member Morgan (Aye), Board member Firestone (Aye), Vice Chair D'Adamo (Aye), and Charest Scavell (Aye). The chair announced the resolution was adopted.

Why it matters: Staff elevated PFAS because of federal action, OEHHA public health goals, ongoing monitoring results and new funding for method development and disadvantaged‑community sampling. The division’s multi‑year plan includes primacy work, DLR revisions to improve data quality, and rulemaking across multiple contaminants that staff said will require laboratory capacity assessments and public engagement.","The State Water Resources Control Board heard an annual priorities briefing from the Division of Drinking Water, which identified PFAS rulemaking as the top priority and listed several other MCL reviews. The board adopted a resolution under item 3 (change sheet 2) by roll call vote.","actionData","errors"]

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State Water Resources Control Board previews Cal Waters rollout; measurement rule (SB 88) updates to align with new platform

Board adopts drinking‑water regulatory priorities; PFAS work listed as top priority