SAFER Engagement Unit Data

This webpage hosts regularly updated data and statistics on public water system statuses as related to SAFER Engagement Units work for the Human Right to Water.

On September 12, 2012, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed Assembly Bill (AB) 685, making California the first state in the nation to legislatively recognize the human right to water. The Division of Drinking Water maintains the Human Right to Water portal providing a snapshot of HR2W statuses for all systems in California.

Consolidation Data

The engagement unit works closely with district staff and water systems voluntarily consolidating, or in the process of state-mandated consolidation under the authority provided in Senate Bill 88 (§116680-116684 of the California Health and Safety Code). For information on systems currently in the process of consolidation, visit our Mandatory Consolidation for Disadvantaged Communities page.

Water System Partnership map, and link to the page

Public Water System Counts

Senate Bill 1263, Public Water Permits is a new law that affects permitting of new water systems by requiring a proposed system to submit a preliminary technical report at least 6 months prior to permit approval, effective Jan 1, 2017. This bill discourages the establishment of new water systems where consolidation to an existing water system is feasible. Water systems lacking adequate technical, managerial, and financial capacity disproportionately impact small, disadvantaged communities across the state and present an unsustainable burden on communities and taxpayers.

Snapshot of Public Water Systems

number of public water systems

Solutions for Communities with Drinking Water Violations

More information on drinking water systems with violations and their current financial assistance status can be found with the Drinking Water Systems with Violations Tools.