BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1006
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Byron D. Sher, Chairman
1999-2000 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1006
AUTHOR: Costa
AMENDED: April 12, 1999
FISCAL: No HEARING DATE: May 10, 1999
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Arnie Peters
SUBJECT : WATER SOFTENERS: LOCAL-LEVEL REGULATION
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Contains a legislative declaration that the right of
residential water consumers to the use of domestic water
supplies should be interfered with only for reasons of
health and safety, that the availability of residential
water softeners is necessary to ensure the right to a
functional residential water supply, but that residential
water softeners may be used only as provided in law.
2) Allows self-regenerating residential water softeners
(appliances that use salt solutions to regenerate their
capability to soften water and then discharge the waste
brine to the sewer) to be installed and used in homes only
if:
a) The water softener is certified to meet a salt
efficiency rating of 2850 grains of hardness per pound
of regenerating salt. (This rating means that 6.5
ounces of hardness are removed from water for every 16
ounces of salt used.)
b) The certification is provided by the user of the
water softener and the certification form is filled in
by the contractor and filed with the local agency that
issues plumbing permits.
c) The following water conservation devices are
installed at the time the water softener is installed:
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faucet flow and shower head restricters, toilet
reservoir dams, and bypass valves that divert unsoftened
water to the outside water supply faucets.
This bill :
1) Amends the legislative declaration described above to say
that the right of residential water consumers to use
domestic water supplies may be interfered with in order to
protect water quality, as well as for health and safety
purposes, and that, to ensure the right to a functional
residential water supply, the availability of water
softeners may be required, rather than being absolutely
necessary.
2) Provides that the statutory authorization to install
residential water softeners when the conditions described
above (see item 2 under "existing law") are met does not
include the right to install self-regenerating residential
water softeners or to discharge brine waste into a
community waste system if the local administering agency
adopts an ordinance or rule to control salty discharges to
the sewer for any of the following reasons:
a) To comply with waste discharge requirements issued by
the regional water quality board or to otherwise protect
the beneficial uses of water.
b) To comply with water reclamation requirements or a
master reclamation permit issued by the regional water
board.
c) To recycle water containing waste.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . This bill is sponsored by the Irvine
Ranch Water District and the Association of California
Water Agencies. Its purpose is to address a long-standing
conflict between local wastewater and water supply agencies
on the one hand and the water softener industry on the
other. The conflict can, perhaps, best be described by two
related questions:
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a) Should residential water users be permitted, without
restriction, to install and use self-regenerating water
softeners that discharge brine wastewater to the
community sewer system when two basic conditions are met
-- the water softeners meet a specified salt use
efficiency standard and water conservation devices are
also installed to limit the amount of softened water
used?
b) Should local wastewater and water supply agencies be
permitted to regulate or even prohibit the use of
self-regenerating residential water softeners if that is
necessary in order to meet water quality regulatory
requirements or in order to recycle water?
Existing state law answers these questions in favor of
residential water users and the water softener industry that
sells and installs self-regenerating water softeners. This
bill would change state law to answer the questions in favor
of local wastewater and water supply agencies.
2) History of the Issue . The conflict described above has
apparently been an issue for many years. Existing law,
which resolved the issue in favor of residential water
consumers and the water softener industry was enacted 21
years ago by SB 2148 (Campbell). Senator Campbell has
stated that the intent behind the bill was threefold:
a) To ensure that water consumers would be able to enjoy
the benefits of softened water at a reasonable cost.
b) To require that water softeners meet a statewide
numerical efficiency standard - namely the removal of 6.5
ounces of the dissolved solids that cause hard water for
each pound of salt used to regenerate the water
softeners.
c) To prohibit local jurisdictions from outlawing the
sale and use of self-regenerating water softeners by
enacting a state statute that preempts local ordinances.
Since the enactment of SB 1248 in 1978, local agencies
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around the state have enacted ordinances or rules regulating
or banning the use of self-regenerating water softeners.
These ordinances have been challenged in court and have been
found to be invalid by at least two state district courts of
appeal in Water Quality Assn. v. County of Santa Barbara
(1996) and Water Quality Assn. v. City of Escondido (1997).
In both cases, the courts held that local ordinances
regulating or banning self-regenerating water softeners are
void because state law regulating water softeners has
preempted local control by occupying the field. The appeal
courts went on to state that if local agencies wish to
regulate or ban self-regenerating water softeners, "they
must seek amendment or repeal of the [now existing] state
statutory scheme."
3) Self-Regenerating Water Softeners. Water softeners remove
the metal ions that cause hardness in water by the use of a
special device called an ion exchange resin. The resin
attracts these metal ions and binds them within its matrix
until there are no longer sites at which the ions can bind.
At that point the resin must be regenerated and this is
accomplished by bathing the resin in a salty solution that,
because of its high concentration of positive ions from the
salt, removes the metal ions. The latter, along with the
excess salt, are then discharged into the sewer.
Water softeners can be divided into two general
categories. The first category consists of devices that
use exchangeable tanks containing the ion exchange resin.
When the resin requires regeneration, the tank containing
it is exchanged for another and the first tank is sent to
an offsite commercial facility for regeneration. This bill
does not affect the use of exchangeable tank water
softeners.
The second category consists of self-regenerating water
softeners. The regeneration of these appliances is
initiated manually, by a timing device or by a system that
senses when the ion exchange resin is close to exhaustion
and regeneration is required. Self-regenerating water
softeners discharge the waste brine from the regeneration
process directly to the sewer. This bill would allow local
sewer and water agencies to regulate or ban this category
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of water softeners.
SOURCE : Irvine Ranch Water District and the Association
of California Water Agencies.
SUPPORT : Aliso Water Management Agency, Bakersfield
Public Works Department, Borrego Water
District, California Association of Sanitation
Agencies, Calleguas Municipal Water District,
Carmel Area Wastewater District, Carpinteria
Valley Water District, Central Basin Municipal
Water District, Central Contra Costa Sanitary
District, Cities of Encinitas, Escondido,
Merced, Santa Maria, Santa Paula, Santa Rosa,
Thousand Oaks, Turlock, Visalia, County
Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County,
Fairbanks Ranch Community Services District,
Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency,
Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Lake Arrowhead
Community Services District, League of
California Cities, Lee Lake Water District,
Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control
Agency, Municipal Water District of Orange
County, Natural Resources Defense Council,
Olivenhain Municipal Water District, Padre Dam
Municipal Water District, Pajaro Valley Water
Management Agency, Rancho Santa Fe Community
Services District, Russell Valley Municipal
Water District, San Dieguito Water District,
San Gabriel County Water District, Scotts
Valley Water District, South Bayside System
Authority, South Coast Water District, South
East Regional Reclamation Authority, South
Orange County Reclamation Authority, Sunnyslope
County Water District, Tahoe-Truckee Sanitation
Agency, Vallecitos Water District, Valley
Center Municipal Water District, Vandenberg
Village Community Services District, Victor
Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority,
WateReuse Association, West Basin Municipal
Water District, Whispering Palms, 3 letters
from private citizens
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OPPOSITION : Advanced Water Systems (3 letters), American
Water Products, Inc., AQUA 2000, Aquion Limited
Partners, B & D Quality Water, Inc. (28
letters), CALPURE, California Water
Conditioning Company, Casalegno's Water
Filtration, Central Coast Water Treatment, Inc.
(3 letters), Challenger Water International,
Inc., Continental Water Softener, Culligan (36
letters), ECO Water Systems (23 letters),
Femino's Trattoria, Fremont-Rideout Health
Group, Fresh Water Systems (11 letters), GE
Appliances, Highland Well Service (2 letters),
Ionics (2 letters), Kinetico/AAA Water Systems
(3 letters), Kiss International, Life Time
Solutions (29 letters), Inc., Liquid Solutions
(9 letters), Morley Water Improvement Systems,
New Age Water Technology, North State Water
Testing, Park International Corp. (32 letters),
Precision Installation Products, Inc., Pure
Water Centers, Purified Water Systems (3
letters), Quality Home Products (3 letters),
Quality Water Engineering, Inc., Rain Soft,
Randazzo's Water Conditioning, Rayne Quality
Water (5 letters), Rayne Water Conditioning (46
letters), Richetti Water Conditioning Systems
(4 letters), Smart Systems, Special T Water
Systems, Inc. (14 letters), Superior Water
Systems, Water Factory Systems, Water, Inc.,
Water Specialties, Water Quality Association,
Water Quality Systems (6 letters), USFilter,
West Coast Services (2 letters), Western Salt
Company (3 letters), Western Water Products (8
letters), Yuba City Florist, water conditioning
company employees & private citizens (27
letters)