Ventura County to repeal county-run cross-connection program; duties shift to local water purveyors

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to repeal the county'run cross-connection control ordinance and end county-led backflow services, transferring primary responsibility to local water purveyors.

The change follows the State Water Resources Control Board'endorsed Cross Connection Control Policy Handbook, adopted in December 2023 and effective July 1, 2024, which replaces California Code of Regulations, Title 17, and adds new program requirements that county staff said the county cannot meet without major new resources.

County staff described how the new handbook requires ANSI-accredited lab certification for testers, mandatory hazard assessments for every water meter in a purveyor's district, 24-hour incident response, public outreach and formal local coordination. "We went from an eight-page Title 17 to an 80-page policy handbook," Environmental Health staff member Mr. Ventura said. "There is no state mandate for the county to provide these services."

The staff recommendation presented to the board asked the supervisors to introduce an ordinance repealing Ventura County Ordinance No. 4487, set a second hearing for June 24 to receive public testimony and adopt the repeal, and find the repeal exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3).

Supervisor Mike Garel (Supervisor Garel) and others asked whether the county's many (over 100) purveyors have the staffing and technical capacity to assume full responsibility. "How do we feel about all of these purveyors having the bandwidth capability, resources [and] maturity to actually follow the regulatory requirements under the new law?" Supervisor Garel asked. Ventura responded that purveyors have the intimate knowledge of their own distribution systems and that the county historically served in an assisting role. "I truly believe it's really better housed in their wheelhouse to actually take on this policy handbook," Ventura said, noting the purveyors typically carry out enforcement when corrective actions are written.

Some supervisors asked whether the county should create an internal program or offer a transitional oversight role. Supervisor Long asked if any degree of overlap or a scaled-back county oversight could ensure a seamless and safe transition. Ventura said establishing an internal county regulatory program would require creating ordinance language, adding staff (the handbook includes suggestions like 10 new full-time positions) and funding, and that such a program would likely place costs on property owners.

Public comment included Scott Corrigan, owner of Accurate Backflow Testing and Dock Repair, who urged the board to reconsider the repeal for internal service protection. "What we will see'and we have seen'is these backflow devices internally, if they start leaking, a building engineer is going to not call somebody, especially if they know that there's not gonna be any enforcement," Corrigan said, warning that owners might remove devices or splice piping and increase cross-connection hazards. Corrigan noted Los Angeles and Orange counties maintain programs funded by fees.

Board members and staff described steps to ease the transition for some districts. Ventura said the county has been coordinating data transfers and training with purveyors and providing spreadsheets and test reminders to assist inventories. For the four small water districts the county manages under Public Works (Lake Sherwood, Somas, Moorpark and one other), Jeff Palmer of Public Works said his department will assume the obligations for those four water districts and is transferring records from Environmental Health to Public Works.

The board's action: Supervisor Long moved to approve the repeal ordinance; Supervisor LaVier seconded. The board read the ordinance title into the record: "An ordinance of the board of supervisors of the county of Ventura, state of California, repealing ordinance number 4487, amending Ventura County ordinance code division 4, chapter 6, article 4, pertaining to the administration of the Ventura County cross connection programs in its entirety." The motion passed unanimously.

The repeal returns primary legal responsibility for cross-connection control and compliance with the State Water Resources Control Board policy to the water purveyors. County staff said they will cease county contracts that provided certification assistance and that purveyors will now be responsible for implementing the handbook's requirements.

The board scheduled a second hearing for formal adoption and to receive public comment as part of the ordinance process. Staff emphasized that purveyors and affected customers should expect a multi-year transition as inventories and administrative systems are transferred and purveyors build capacity.

Ending note: County staff and Public Works said they will continue limited transitional coordination, including record transfers and IT support, while purveyors put their programs in place. The ordinance title, the vote and staff recommendations were recorded in the meeting minutes; the board found the repeal action to be exempt from CEQA under the cited guideline.