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OLR Bill Analysis
HB 6615
AN ACT CONCERNING SAFE DRINKING WATER.
SUMMARY
This bill makes various changes affecting public drinking water.
Principally, it:
1. requires water companies to provide an alternative drinking
water source to their customers when an event that affects
drinking water quality or quantity (e.g., a water main break or
loss of system pressure) lasts longer than eight hours (§ 1);
2. requires water companies to provide “tier 1” written
communications to customers in the languages predominantly
spoken in their service area (§ 2);
3. requires community water systems to promptly report their
operational status to WebEOC (the state’s online emergency
management information system) within eight hours after the
governor declares a civil preparedness or public health
emergency (§ 3);
4. requires small community water systems, by January 1, 2025, to
prepare a capacity implementation plan regarding the system
owner's managerial, technical, and financial capacity to own
and operate the system (§ 4);
5. requires water bottlers, starting by January 1, 2022, to collect
samples before any water treatment, annually test each
approved water source for perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
and other unregulated contaminants, and report the test results
to the departments of public health (DPH) and consumer
protection (DCP) within nine calendar days (§§ 5 & 6); 2021HB-06615-R000439-BA.DOCX
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6. requires environmental labs that test drinking water samples to
notify the public water system that requested the test and DPH
within 24 hours after completing it, if the results show a
contaminant level that exceeds federal Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) standards (§ 7); and
7. requires health care institutions to obtain potable water from a
licensed bulk water hauler or water bottler as a temporary
measure to alleviate a water supply shortage (§ 8).
The bill also makes technical changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2021
§1 — ALTERNATIVE DRINKING WATER SOURCES
The bill requires water companies to provide their consumers an
alternative drinking water source as a temporary measure when there
is an event lasting longer than eight hours that DPH determines may
affect drinking water quality or quantity (e.g., a water main break or
loss of system pressure).
Under the bill, alternative water sources include bulk water
provided by a licensed bulk water hauler, bottled water, or a fill
station.
The bill requires water companies to update their emergency
response plans that they submit to DPH under existing law and
regulation to include information on how they will comply with the
bill’s alternative water source requirement.
Under the bill, as under existing law, “water company” means any
individual, municipality, or entity that owns, maintains, operates,
manages, controls, or employs any pond, lake, reservoir, well, stream,
or distributing plant or system that supplies water to two or more
consumers or to 25 or more people on a regular basis.
§2 — TIER 1 NOTICES
The bill requires water companies to provide “tier 1” written 2021HB-06615-R000439-BA.DOCX
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communications to customers in the languages predominantly spoken
in their service area and update their emergency response plans that
they submit to DPH under existing law and regulation to include
information on providing these multilingual communications.
Under state regulation, water companies must send a “tier 1” notice
to customers to communicate certain water quality or quantity issues
or concerns with customers, such as when a water source exceeds the
state’s maximum contaminant levels (Conn. Agencies Regs. § 19-13-
B102).
§3 — COMMUNITY WATER SYST EMS AND DECLARED
EMERGENCIES
The bill requires community water systems that serve at least 25
residents to promptly report their operational status to WebEOC
within eight hours after the governor declares a civil preparedness or
public health emergency, and any time thereafter that the system’s
status changes.
Under the bill, “WebEOC” is the state’s online emergency
management information used to document routine and emergency
events or incidents. It provides a real-time operating picture and
resource request management tool for local and state emergency
managers during exercises; drills; or local, regional, or statewide
emergencies.
§4 — SMALL COMMUNITY WATE R SYSTEMS
Starting by January 1, 2025, the bill requires each owner of a small
community water system (i.e., those regularly serving between 25 and
1,000 year-round residents) to complete and implement a “capacity
implementation plan” that demonstrates that the owner has the
managerial, technical, and financial capacity to continue to own and
operate the system. The plan must be updated annually and made
available to DPH upon request.
Under the bill, the plan must include:
1. a description of the small community water system, including 2021HB-06615-R000439-BA.DOCX
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the number of consumers and persons it serves, and its drinking
water sources;
2. ownership and management information, including the
system’s type of ownership structure and the current contact
information for the owners, certified operators, and emergency
contact persons;
3. service area maps and facilities maps, including the location of
and specific information on sources, storage and treatment
facilities, pressure zones, booster pumps, hydrants, distribution
lines, valves, and sampling points;
4. a description of the system’s cross-connection control program
and source water protection program;
5. a copy of the system’s emergency response plan required under
existing DPH regulations;
6. a capital improvement program, including the schedule that
identifies all capital improvements scheduled for a five-year
planning period and capital improvements or major projects
scheduled for a 20-year planning period;
7. water production and consumption information; and
8. information on nearby public water systems, including their
type and distance, based on the coordinated water system plan
approved by DPH for the water utility coordinating committee
where the small community water system is located.
The bill also requires the plan to include financial capacity
information, including:
1. an evaluation of the small community water system’s fiscal plan
required under existing law;
2. a summary of the system’s income and expenses for the five
years preceding the date the plan is submitted; 2021HB-06615-R000439-BA.DOCX
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3. a five-year balanced operation budget;
4. the system’s water rate structure and fees charged, including
information on how the rates and fees are updated and whether
they are sufficient to maintain cash flow stability and fund the
capital improvement plan and any emergency improvements;
and
5. an evaluation that has considered the affordability of water
rates.
The bill requires small community water systems, starting by July 1,
2025, to annually summarize its capacity plan in its consumer
confidence report that is required under existing DPH regulations.
Exceptions
The bill’s plan requirement does not apply to a small community
water system that is (1) regulated by the Public Utilities Regulatory
Authority (i.e., investor-owned water companies); (2) required to
submit a water supply plan to DPH (e.g., generally, those serving 1,000
or more people or 250 or more customers); or (3) a state agency.
The bill deems the report requirement to relate to the purity and
adequacy of water supplies for the purpose of imposing a penalty for
violating statutory or regulatory requirements regarding public water
supply purity, adequacy, or testing described further below.
Regulations
The bill authorizes DPH to adopt regulations to implement the bill’s
requirements for small community water systems.
§§ 5 & 6 — BOTTLED WATER TESTIN G
This bill requires water bottlers, by January 1, 2022, to annually
collect water samples before any water treatment from each DPH-
approved source and test them for PFAS and other unregulated
contaminants. A DPH-registered environmental laboratory that has
EPA-approved certification must test the samples to determine
compliance with microbial standards established by DPH for public 2021HB-06615-R000439-BA.DOCX
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drinking water.
Under the bill, water bottlers must report the test results to DPH
and DCP within nine calendar days after receiving them. If the results
exceed DPH standards for PFAS and other unregulated contaminants,
the department may require the water bottler to stop using the
approved source until it no longer poses an unacceptable health or
safety risk to consumers. The bill requires DPH to notify DCP when it
takes such action.
The bill defines an “unregulated contaminant” as a contaminant for
which DPH has set a level at which it creates, or can be reasonably
expected to create, an unacceptable risk of injury to the consumer’s
health or safety.
Existing law requires water bottlers, among other things, to collect
samples from each approved source at least once a year to test for
regulated contaminants and at least one every three years for
unregulated contaminants for which allowable levels have not been
established.
§ 7 — PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM TESTING
The bill requires an environmental laboratory that tests a public
water system sample to notify DPH and the requestor about the test
within 24 hours after obtaining a test result that shows a contaminant
at a level that violates EPA national primary drinking water standards.
Under the bill, a contaminant means E. Coli, lead, nitrate, and nitrite.
Under existing law, if a public water system violates EPA national
primary drinking water standards, DPH must notify the chief elected
official in the municipality where the water system is located and any
municipality the water system serves. The bill allows the
commissioner’s designee, instead of only the commissioner, to make
the notification. As under existing law, the commissioner’s designee
must do this within five business days after receiving notice of the
violation.
COMMITTEE ACTION 2021HB-06615-R000439-BA.DOCX
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Public Health Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 33 Nay 0 (03/26/2021)