ARTICLE 5. Individual Disposal Systems [13280. - 13286.9.]

Cal. Water Code - WAT 5.

in effect

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 13280. Section 13280.

A determination that discharge of waste from existing or new individual disposal systems or from community collection and disposal systems which utilize subsurface disposal should not be permitted shall be supported by substantial evidence in the record that discharge of waste from such disposal systems will result in violation of water quality objectives, will impair present or future beneficial uses of water, will cause pollution, nuisance, or contamination, or will unreasonably degrade the quality of any waters of the state.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 13281. Section 13281.

(a) In making a determination pursuant to Section 13280, except as specified in subdivision (b), the regional board shall consider all relevant evidence related to the discharge, including, but not limited to, those factors set forth in Section 13241, information provided pursuant to Section 117435 of the Health and Safety Code, possible adverse impacts if the discharge is permitted, failure rates of any existing individual disposal systems whether due to inadequate design, construction, maintenance, or unsuitable hydrogeologic conditions, evidence of any existing, prior, or potential contamination, existing and planned land use, dwelling density, historical population growth, and any other criteria as may be established pursuant to guidelines, regulations, or policies adopted by the state board. (b) (1) To the extent that resources are available for that purpose, the regional board shall prohibit the discharge of waste from existing or new individual disposal systems on parcels of less than one-half acre that overlie the Mission Creek Aquifer or the Desert Hot Springs Aquifer in Riverside County, if a sewer system is available. (2) For parcels of one-half acre or greater that overlie the aquifers described in paragraph (1), the maximum number of equivalent dwelling units with individual disposal systems shall be two per acre. For the purpose of this paragraph, the term “equivalent dwelling unit” means a single family dwelling as defined in Section 221.0 of the 1997 edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code of the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials. (3) For the purposes of this subdivision, a sewer system is available if a sewer system, or a building connected to a sewer system, is within 200 feet of the existing or proposed dwelling unit, in accordance with Section 713.4 of the 1997 edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code of the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials. (4) To the extent that resources are available for the purposes of this subdivision, the regional board shall achieve compliance with this subdivision on or before January 1, 2004.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 13282. Section 13282.

(a) If it appears that adequate protection of water quality, protection of beneficial uses of water, and prevention of nuisance, pollution, and contamination can be attained by appropriate design, location, sizing, spacing, construction, and maintenance of individual disposal systems in lieu of elimination of discharges from systems, and if an authorized public agency provides satisfactory assurance to the regional board that the systems will be appropriately designed, located, sized, spaced, constructed, and maintained, the discharges shall be permitted so long as the systems are adequately designed, located, sized, spaced, constructed, and maintained. (b) An authorized public agency shall notify the regional board if the systems are not adequately designed, located, sized, spaced, constructed, and maintained. (c) For purposes of this section, “authorized public agency” means a public agency authorized by a water quality control board and having authority to ensure that systems are adequately designed, located, sized, spaced, constructed, and maintained.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 13283. Section 13283.

In reviewing any determination that discharge of waste from existing or new individual disposal systems should not be permitted, the state board shall include a preliminary review of possible alternatives necessary to achieve protection of water quality and present and future beneficial uses of water, and prevention of nuisance, pollution, and contamination, including, but not limited to, community collection and waste disposal systems which utilize subsurface disposal, and possible combinations of individual disposal systems, community collection and disposal systems which utilize subsurface disposal, and conventional treatment systems.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 13284. Section 13284.

The state board may adopt guidelines, regulations, or policies necessary to implement the provisions of this article.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 13285. Section 13285.

(a) A discharge from a storage tank, pipeline, or other container of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), or of any pollutant that contains MTBE, that poses a threat to drinking water, or to groundwater or surface water that may reasonably be used for drinking water, or to coastal waters shall be cleaned up to a level consistent with subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 25296.10 of the Health and Safety Code. (b) (1) A public water system, or its customers, shall not be responsible for remediation or treatment costs associated with MTBE, or a product that contains MTBE. However, the public water system may, as necessary, incur MTBE remediation and treatment costs and include those costs in its customer rates and charges that are necessary to comply with drinking water standards or directives of the state board or other lawful authority. A public water system that incurs MTBE remediation or treatment costs may seek recovery of those costs from parties responsible for the MTBE contamination, or from other available alternative sources of funds. (2) If the public water system has included the costs of MTBE treatment and remediation in its customer rates and charges, and subsequently recovers all, or a portion of, its MTBE treatment and remediation costs from responsible parties or other available alternative sources of funds, it shall make an adjustment to its schedule of rates and charges to reflect the amount of funding received from responsible parties or other available alternative sources of funds for MTBE treatment or remediation. (3) Paragraph (1) does not prevent the imposition of liability on any person for the discharge of MTBE if that liability is due to the conduct or status of that person independently of whether the person happens to be a customer of the public water system.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 13286. Section 13286.

(a) On and after January 1, 2012, the appropriate regional board shall prohibit the discharge of wastewater into the ground through the use of individual subsurface disposal systems in the Cove area of Cathedral City in Riverside County for the purposes of protecting the health and safety of the residents consuming the groundwater of the Upper Coachella Valley Groundwater Basin and achieving the applicable water quality objectives. (b) The appropriate regional board shall revise its water quality control plan to reflect the prohibition set forth in subdivision (a). (c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), the appropriate regional board, prior to January 1, 2012, may prohibit the discharge of wastewater through the use of individual subsurface disposal systems in the Cove area of Cathedral City in Riverside County, and if so prohibited, that board shall revise its water quality control plan to reflect the prohibition. (d) To ensure that the purposes of this section are fulfilled, the state board, using existing resources, shall assist Cathedral City to identify and obtain state and federal funds to establish a sanitary public domestic and commercial wastewater disposal system.

Cal. Water Code - WAT § 13286.9. Section 13286.9.

On and after the date determined by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, or January 1, 2013, whichever is earlier, all wastewater discharged by the Orange County Sanitation District into the Pacific Ocean shall be subject to at least secondary treatment requirements pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Section 301 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1311(b)(1)(B)), and any more stringent requirements determined to be appropriate by the state board or that regional board.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026