Bill To Ensure Safe Drinking Water Signed By The Governor

The Governor has signed Assemblymember Alex Lee’s bill to improve access to safe drinking water in disadvantaged communities. AB 2454 will protect the health and wellbeing of tenants who rely on well water. The bill ensures that domestic well owners participate in free well testing programs, and provide tenants with safe drinking water if needed. 

“Everyone should have the human right to safe drinking water,” said Assemblymember Alex Lee. “Even when free domestic well testing programs are available, participation remains far too low. It puts people at risk of exposure to dangerous contaminants in their water, and AB 2454 will help prevent community members from drinking toxic water. We have to ensure that free domestic well testing programs are reaching the people who need them most.”

In 2012, California became the first state in the nation to recognize that every person has the right to safe, affordable and accessible water. But much remains to be done to fully realize the state’s vision, especially for the rural, agricultural and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities that often rely on domestic wells. 

Over 1.3 million people statewide are estimated to use domestic wells, and disadvantaged communities commonly face significant water-quality problems. Smaller, older, and poorly maintained water systems or domestic wells disproportionately contain contaminants associated with a broad range of health issues, including cancer, gastrointestinal illness, along with developmental and reproductive effects. Further, counties with the greatest number of domestic wells in highest water quality risk areas include Fresno, Sonoma, San Joaquin and Tulare counties, according to a 2024 assessment by the State Water Resources Control Board.

AB 2454 will ensure that free domestic well testing programs are effective and equitable. The provisions of the bill include the following: 

• If a free domestic well testing program is offered, domestic well owners must participate if their well serves a rental property within the boundaries of the program that’s established or funded by the State Water Resources Control Board or a regional water board. 
• Domestic well owners are required to provide the test results to their tenants. 
• Residents must be provided with potable water offered through the testing program if test results show that the well water fails to meet safe drinking water standards.

California currently lacks explicit protections for tenants who rely on domestic wells for drinking water. Neither state nor federal law requires domestic wells to be tested for drinking water contaminants, though the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and State Water Resources Control Board do recommend annual testing. 

When contaminants are found, both interim solutions and remediation strategies can be expensive. Tenants in rural areas are often forced to pay out of pocket for both contaminated water and replacement drinking water for their households, or risk exposure to toxic chemicals. In cases where water treatment systems cannot address the issue or are not successful, well owners may even need to obtain an alternative water supply or drill a new well that taps a less contaminated aquifer.

Despite these costs, several local and state funded programs exist to offer services such as well testing and replacement bottled water delivery to domestic well owners and tenants in high contamination areas, free of charge. However, well owners with rental units have been reported to decline participation in well testing programs. 

AB 2454 will increase participation and leverage the efforts of ongoing well testing programs, such as the Central Valley Salinity Alternatives for Long-Term Sustainability program and Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience program. The bill is sponsored by Clean Water Action, Community Water Center and Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. 

"All Californians should have access to critical information about their drinking water quality," said Michael Claiborne, Directing Attorney at the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. "By requiring landlords to participate in free domestic well testing programs, where available, and take steps to ensure tenants have access to alternative sources of safe drinking water where pollution is found, AB 2454 is a critical step toward universal access to safe and affordable drinking water."

“Because domestic wells are not required to be tested for water quality, residents are often unaware that their water source is tainted,” said Jennifer Clary, California Director of Clean Water Action. “Domestic well testing programs are often the only way to know if there’s a problem. That’s why it’s so important that everyone who is eligible can have their well tested and why the passage of AB 2454 is so important.”

"It is encouraging to see the Governor sign AB 2454 to advance the Human Right to Water for Californians who rent,” said Abraham Mendoza, Policy Manager at Community Water Center. “More people will know what is in their water and will be able to access urgently needed drinking water resources. We are headed in the right direction but we need to keep working until all California communities have long term access to safe and affordable drinking water."

AB 2454 builds on Assemblymember Lee’s efforts to meet every Californian’s fundamental need to clean water. Last year, he authored legislation to ensure renters served solely by their wells have access to potable water. AB 664 requires well owners who turn down state-funded consolidation — the joining of two or more water systems when they fail or are at risk of failing — to assume responsibility for ensuring that tenants have access to safe drinking water. These bills are guided by Assemblymember Lee’s commitment to realize California’s promise of the universal right to safe drinking water.