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State Water Resources Control Board updates EAR portal; releases worksheet and training videos
Summary
Staff from the State Water Resources Control Board’s EAR customer service team demonstrated updates to the Electronic Annual Report (EAR) portal, introduced a downloadable EAR reporter worksheet and tutorial videos, and reviewed data‑download and upload guidance for water systems. Technical assistance and reporting deadlines were highlighted.
The State Water Resources Control Board’s EAR customer service team reviewed updates to the Electronic Annual Report (EAR) portal and new resources for reporting-year 2024 during a public Brown Bag webinar.
The presentation, given by Gabriela Gutierrez, Wendy Killu and Jonathan Swaydie of the EAR customer service team, focused on portal navigation, a new EAR reporter worksheet spreadsheet, tutorial videos, data downloads and customer support options. "We have Wendy Killu, who is our logistics lead, myself, Gabriela Gutierrez, and Jonathan Swaydie," Gutierrez said as she opened the session.
Staff said the EAR homepage now includes a direct login/reporting button and a new tab to request EAR technical assistance. The technical assistance application is available through the portal and must be completed by March 1 to be considered, staff said. The team described the application as free for qualifying systems and listed eligibility priorities on the site.
Wendy Killu, logistics lead for the EAR customer service team, demonstrated the new EAR reporter worksheet, a downloadable Excel file that contains each EAR question, data‑type guidance, conditional (hide/show) logic notes and discrete reportable-grid tabs intended for table uploads. "The biggest 1 is the orange color tabs," Killu said while walking through the spreadsheet. She cautioned that users should save copies locally and upload only the specific beige reportable-grid tabs when required to avoid upload errors.
Jonathan Swaydie described tutorial videos posted under Resources on the EAR homepage. The short, mostly silent videos guide users through tasks such as registering new accounts, resetting passwords and using the reportable-grid downloads; longer videos with narration cover complex sections such as 8a and 8b. "Some of those issues are how to add your water system, how to reset your password, new user registration, and issues like that," Swaydie said.
Staff also noted that 2023 EAR data are available for download as text files; older reporting years (2013–2022) are being processed for publication. Gutierrez reminded attendees that SIDWIS (the Safe Drinking Water Information System) prefill is not dynamically synchronized with the EAR portal; regulators are responsible for updating SIDWIS data that migrate into the EAR. "We want to let you all know that the EAR portal and SIDWIS are not connected for automatic updates," she said.
The team reviewed submission and upload guidance: required fields are flagged in the worksheet (for example, physical ZIP code), cell phone numbers are now required in user profiles to start an EAR, and reporters can add no more than 100 water systems at a time in the "manage my water systems" feature. They advised users not to interact with upload controls while pages are loading to prevent file‑transfer errors.
Customer service contact options include a portal "Help and Contact" link and a dedicated email (dfa_tarequest@waterboards.ca.gov) for technical assistance and questions; staff said response time is typically one to two business days for routine inquiries. The webinar recording and resources will be posted under the EAR site Resources page.
Staff closed by listing upcoming one‑hour EAR office‑hours webinars (section‑specific Q&As) and encouraging reporters to use the worksheet and videos. The first office-hour covering sections 1–7 was scheduled for Feb. 21.
