State Water Board staff outline common EAR Section 8 errors, new shutoff questions and support options

State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water staff used a March office hours webinar to walk water systems through Section 8 of the Electronic Annual Report (EAR), identify frequent reporting mistakes and introduce reinserted questions on residential shutoffs and customer assistance.

The webinar, led by Division staff and using a prerecorded demonstration from William Allen of the Needs Analysis Unit, focused on how to report customer charges, rate structures and system revenues in Section 8A and 8B and on newly restored questions in Section 8C related to shutoffs and arrearages. "We are going to be going over section 8," the session host said at the start of the hour, introducing the format: play the training video, pause for questions and offer supplemental slides from Rachel Skillman of the Needs Analysis Unit.

Why it matters: EAR Section 8 feeds the division's standardized back-end calculation of a single monthly water charge equivalent (the division uses a 6 HCF-per-month standard). Errors in how systems enter units or rate tiers can produce implausible outcomes that trigger automated flags and require staff follow-up.

Most common problems identified - Unit-of-measure mismatches: Presenters repeatedly warned that selecting "gallons" when the rate is actually expressed in "thousand gallons" inflates the calculated rate shown in Section 8B. The staff demonstrated an example in which switching the unit from gallons to thousand gallons resolved an anomalously high auto-calculated figure. - Misselecting rate structure: The EAR asks systems to choose among common rate structures (single/flat, fixed base + uniform usage, fixed base + variable usage, variable base + uniform usage, or both base and usage variable). The form shows different data entry tables depending on that selection; choosing the wrong structure can hide or expose fields and lead to incorrect inputs. - Tier and "top unit" entries: For tiered, variable usage rates, systems must enter the correct maximum volume for each tier (and leave the final tier's maximum blank when it applies to all higher usage). Staff noted that leaving the final tier blank is often necessary so the division can compute the standardized 6 HCF charge. - Back-end conversion to 6 HCF: The division's back end converts reported structures to the standard customer charge at 6 HCF (6 hundred cubic feet = 600 cu ft, roughly 4,500 gallons). Staff demonstrated the formula used: base rate + (usage rate x units in the 6 HCF amount within the relevant tier) and said the system rounds the calculated result in Section B1.9.

New or reintroduced questions in Section 8C The webinar also called attention to additional questions restored to Section 8C "due to a bill that came back," staff said. Those items appear when systems indicate they charge residential customers and include: number of residential accounts shut off for nonpayment (single-family and multifamily), whether the system offers payment-assistance plans, counts of accounts on assistance, whether arrearages are transferred to another entity (for example, county programs), and whether a written discontinuation policy is publicly posted. The form now requests a website URL for posted shutoff information or for the written discontinuation policy, the languages in which policies are provided, and counts and amounts where the system records bill forgiveness or other benefits.

Guidance and troubleshooting Staff encouraged systems to attach a current rate-sheet or a URL to verify entered rate structures (the upload fields are in A1.12 and A1.13). When the EAR auto-calculation produces an implausible outcome, the system allows a reporter to enter an "alternative amount" in B1.9; staff said they typically accept an alternative amount for QA/QC while they investigate the underlying data entry.

Technical support and resources Staff acknowledged intermittent usability issues and screen-quality problems during the webinar and urged participants with technical problems to contact the EAR inbox for help. The session provided the help inbox as the primary contact for portal or reporting questions; the division also posted the webinar recordings and slide materials on its EAR resources page and scheduled a follow-up office hours session for March 21 to cover remaining EAR sections.

Quotes from staff and attendees - Rachel Skillman, Needs Analysis Unit: "One of the most common types of rate structures that we see the water systems have is a fixed base rate and a variable usage rate." - The session host (Division of Drinking Water staff): "These questions appear due to a bill that came back," when explaining why the Section 8C items had been restored.

What the division will review next Staff said the EAR team will use uploaded rate documents to QAQC reported values and will contact systems when uploads or entries appear inconsistent. The division also flagged flags and warnings that appear in the EAR when expenses exceed revenue or when calculated customer charges appear unusually high.

For systems: review units of measure, confirm the correct rate-structure selection before filling tier tables, upload a current rate schedule, and, if needed, provide an alternative amount in B1.9 while you and staff resolve discrepancies. If you have technical problems editing fields in the portal, email the EAR inbox (the webinar displayed the division's help address and noted staff will reply; the recording and slides are posted under the EAR resources tab).

The session closed with an invitation to the next office hours and a reminder that the webinar recordings and help tips for Section 8 are available on the EAR web page.