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State water advisory session outlines program goals, approach to reach communities with unsafe drinking water
Summary
Staff presented an overview of the SafeFor program and its priorities for identifying failing systems, using a mix of short- and long-term solutions, and expanding language-accessible outreach and technical assistance.
At a virtual advisory-group meeting of the State Water Resources Control Board, staff gave a broad briefing on the state program referred to in the meeting as “SafeFor,” laying out how the office identifies failing water systems and prioritizes funding and assistance.
Board and staff presenters described SafeFor as a collection of regulatory authorities, funding tools and technical-assistance programs aimed at ensuring access to safe, affordable drinking water for communities that rely on small or struggling systems. Staff described short-term measures such as emergency bottled-water delivery or temporary connections alongside longer-term options including new wells, treatment systems or consolidations with neighboring systems.
Presenters said the program combines data-driven needs assessments, community outreach available in English and Spanish, and coordination across regulatory and financing divisions. Staff emphasized efforts to make materials and meetings bilingual, to give smaller and disadvantaged communities more direct assistance, and to use advisory-group input when drafting the program’s annual spending plan.
Staff also summarized indicators used to identify at-risk systems — water quality violations, chronic monitoring or treatment failures, and repeated service interruptions — and said staff weigh technical, financial and governance conditions when recommending responses. The session included discussion of how the program balances voluntary, collaborative solutions with regulatory steps when a system persistently fails to provide safe water.
Officials invited members of the advisory group to take part in upcoming public workshops and highlighted resources posted to the agency website that list programs and county-level contacts for domestic wells and small-system assistance.
The session closed with staff asking advisory-group members to help refine community outreach materials and the spending plan priorities for the next funding cycle.
