AB 541: California Safe Drinking Water Act: wildfire aftermath: benzene testing.

The California Safe Drinking Water Act provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the State Water Resources Control Board various responsibilities and duties relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health.

This bill would direct the board to require a public water system that has experienced a wildfire event meeting specified criteria to perform sample collection and analysis of its source waters, treatment facilities, conveyance facilities, distribution systems, or a combination thereof, for the presence of benzene as soon as it is safe to do so. The bill would authorize the state board to require a public water system response that includes specified measures if a public water system conducts sampling and finds detectable concentrations of benzene.