State Water Board details EAR schedule, WBKey rollout and support for small systems
October 17, 2025 | State Water Resources Control Board, Boards and Commissions, Executive, California
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The State Water Resources Control Board's Division of Drinking Water on Oct. 2025 told water system representatives the 2025 Electronic Annual Report (EAR) will open Feb. 1, 2026, and remain open for 60 days, while technical reporting order documents will be released Jan. 1, 2026.
The announcement came during the second EAR input forum, a webinar led by Gabriela Gutierrez, a member of the EAR customer service team, Jonathan Swayde of the data support unit and logistics lead Wendy Killoo, who walked attendees through changes to login procedures, support tools and planned training sessions.
The update matters because the EAR is the division's primary data collection tool for public water system reporting; staff said those timeline and account changes will affect how system staff prepare and submit data.
Division staff said WBKey, the agency's multi‑factor authentication system, was implemented Oct. 8, 2025 and now is required to log in to the EAR portal. "The way you log into the EAR portal is now requiring you to use multifactor authentication," Gutierrez said. Staff advised users to register a WBKey account via the EAR registration link, associate their account with the appropriate water system and not to share WBKey credentials.
Staff demonstrated support options for the 2026 reporting season: an online customer service form for individual questions, a data change request form for corrections after an EAR is marked complete, WBKey workshop webinars and "brown bag" training sessions scheduled for February and March to walk through EAR sections. Jonathan Swayde described the customer service form as intended to let staff "answer each question more efficiently and more quickly and provide a better overall experience."
Webinar presenters summarized feedback from a post‑forum survey of 31 respondents: 61% said it was their first EAR forum, 87% said they understood the topics, 77% felt encouraged to participate, and 93% said they plan to attend future input forums. Respondents favored Q&A and polls as interactive features, and most indicated they want demos of EAR sections and the Safer Clearinghouse tutorial.
Staff addressed several operational issues raised by attendees. On authentication devices, the presenters said WBKey supports multiple authentication methods (authentication app, text message, phone call, or email) but one mobile device is recommended per account; a staff member noted that if a user loses or replaces a device, the WBKey MFA must be reset through the division's IT process. "If you get a new cell phone, you need to send an email to us and ask for an MFA reset," Wendy Killoo said.
On account access and multiple users, the division said contractors can register WBKey accounts, associate to a water system and be approved by the regulator so they can submit EARs on a system's behalf. Staff reiterated that contact information displayed in EAR comes from SIDWIS, the division's database of record, and urged systems to contact their regulator when contact details need updating.
Presenters also addressed data issues reported in the first input forum, including incorrect units in the water rates table that can cause systems to be flagged as having "high water cost." "Be really careful of your units of measure," Swayde warned; he illustrated that entering a unit of "100 gallons" instead of the intended "1 (hundred)" can multiply reported rates.
The division said EAR is a separate platform from the Safer Clearinghouse and will not be accessible through the Safer Clearinghouse portal. Staff said an EAR question template (Excel) that lists sections and dependencies will be posted in early January and that recordings and materials for upcoming modernization webinars will be posted to the new WaterTAP web page.
Attendees repeatedly raised performance complaints (page load delays and timeouts) and the single‑device MFA limitation for some users; staff acknowledged the issues and recommended users contact support with screenshots or error messages so IT can investigate. Staff also encouraged attendees to subscribe to the division's GovDelivery distribution to receive notices about upcoming webinars, including a public outreach webinar on Oct. 29 focused on drinking water data modernization.
The session closed with presenters promising follow‑up materials by email and the EAR team's commitment to host targeted brown bag sessions and WBKey workshops ahead of the 2026 reporting season.
The announcement came during the second EAR input forum, a webinar led by Gabriela Gutierrez, a member of the EAR customer service team, Jonathan Swayde of the data support unit and logistics lead Wendy Killoo, who walked attendees through changes to login procedures, support tools and planned training sessions.
The update matters because the EAR is the division's primary data collection tool for public water system reporting; staff said those timeline and account changes will affect how system staff prepare and submit data.
Division staff said WBKey, the agency's multi‑factor authentication system, was implemented Oct. 8, 2025 and now is required to log in to the EAR portal. "The way you log into the EAR portal is now requiring you to use multifactor authentication," Gutierrez said. Staff advised users to register a WBKey account via the EAR registration link, associate their account with the appropriate water system and not to share WBKey credentials.
Staff demonstrated support options for the 2026 reporting season: an online customer service form for individual questions, a data change request form for corrections after an EAR is marked complete, WBKey workshop webinars and "brown bag" training sessions scheduled for February and March to walk through EAR sections. Jonathan Swayde described the customer service form as intended to let staff "answer each question more efficiently and more quickly and provide a better overall experience."
Webinar presenters summarized feedback from a post‑forum survey of 31 respondents: 61% said it was their first EAR forum, 87% said they understood the topics, 77% felt encouraged to participate, and 93% said they plan to attend future input forums. Respondents favored Q&A and polls as interactive features, and most indicated they want demos of EAR sections and the Safer Clearinghouse tutorial.
Staff addressed several operational issues raised by attendees. On authentication devices, the presenters said WBKey supports multiple authentication methods (authentication app, text message, phone call, or email) but one mobile device is recommended per account; a staff member noted that if a user loses or replaces a device, the WBKey MFA must be reset through the division's IT process. "If you get a new cell phone, you need to send an email to us and ask for an MFA reset," Wendy Killoo said.
On account access and multiple users, the division said contractors can register WBKey accounts, associate to a water system and be approved by the regulator so they can submit EARs on a system's behalf. Staff reiterated that contact information displayed in EAR comes from SIDWIS, the division's database of record, and urged systems to contact their regulator when contact details need updating.
Presenters also addressed data issues reported in the first input forum, including incorrect units in the water rates table that can cause systems to be flagged as having "high water cost." "Be really careful of your units of measure," Swayde warned; he illustrated that entering a unit of "100 gallons" instead of the intended "1 (hundred)" can multiply reported rates.
The division said EAR is a separate platform from the Safer Clearinghouse and will not be accessible through the Safer Clearinghouse portal. Staff said an EAR question template (Excel) that lists sections and dependencies will be posted in early January and that recordings and materials for upcoming modernization webinars will be posted to the new WaterTAP web page.
Attendees repeatedly raised performance complaints (page load delays and timeouts) and the single‑device MFA limitation for some users; staff acknowledged the issues and recommended users contact support with screenshots or error messages so IT can investigate. Staff also encouraged attendees to subscribe to the division's GovDelivery distribution to receive notices about upcoming webinars, including a public outreach webinar on Oct. 29 focused on drinking water data modernization.
The session closed with presenters promising follow‑up materials by email and the EAR team's commitment to host targeted brown bag sessions and WBKey workshops ahead of the 2026 reporting season.
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