UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

Community water systems serve as the local water provider for 98% or more of Los Angeles County’s population and have the responsibility to collect, report, and share data regarding water quality to the state and to their customers under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and associated state law.

Public water systems’ technical, managerial, and financial capacities vary greatly throughout the state, as does their ability to comply with existing standards. For instance, larger public water systems may be better able to comply because they can more easily staff and pay for required maintenance and water testing, while “at-risk” water systems likely need to pass off costs to their customers. Additionally, many water systems face aging infrastructure and underinvestment that cause challenges in providing safe drinking water.

Although water systems are publicly regulated (unlike private wells) and residents commonly expect that water systems are responsible for their tap water quality, water systems are not responsible for on-site or private premise plumbing. Instead, as other briefs cover, property owners are responsible for on-site plumbing. Thus, water systems are not fully responsible for the quality of water coming out of the tap.