Hands-on compliance support for small and medium public water systems — from sanitary survey preparation and violation response to documentation development and operator support.
Operating a public water system in California or Nevada means navigating one of the most complex and actively enforced drinking water regulatory environments in the country. SWRCB's Division of Drinking Water (DDW) conducts routine sanitary surveys, reviews annual compliance reports, tracks violations, and issues compliance orders — often with tight response deadlines that can overwhelm small systems without dedicated compliance support.
Aqua Solutions Consulting provides hands-on regulatory compliance support for small and medium public water systems — from day-to-day compliance management to urgent violation response. Our principal consultant holds a California Grade D5 Distribution operator license, 20+ years of field experience, and direct familiarity with the DDW regulatory process from the operator's perspective.
Small water systems rarely have a full-time compliance officer. Aqua Solutions fills that role — handling the regulatory paperwork, deadlines, documentation, and DDW communication so your board and operator can focus on running the system.
Active DDW violation, incoming sanitary survey, compliance order deadline — we prioritize urgent situations. Contact us and we will assess your situation within 24 hours.
(909) 382-1782 · thealy@aquasolutionsconsulting.com
California's Division of Drinking Water oversees more than 7,000 public water systems. Small community water systems are subject to the same regulatory requirements as large utilities — but typically lack the staff and resources to manage compliance in-house.
DDW conducts periodic sanitary surveys and issues deficiency findings that require formal written responses and corrective action within defined timeframes. Unresolved findings escalate to significant deficiencies.
SOPs, emergency response plans, water quality sampling plans, and cross-connection control program documents must be current and available for DDW review at any time.
Missed sampling deadlines or late report submissions generate violations that require public notification and formal reporting — compounding the compliance burden for already-stretched small systems.
Systems must maintain operator certifications that match the system's classification. Certification lapses or gaps can trigger significant deficiency findings during sanitary surveys.
Annual CCRs must be prepared, reviewed, and delivered to customers by July 1 each year — with specific content and delivery requirements that change when monitoring results trigger special language.
The new CCCPH (effective July 2024) added significant new program requirements that many small systems are still working to meet — including new plan formats, hazard assessment mandates, and tester certification rules.
Full-spectrum compliance support — from proactive preparation to urgent response. Every engagement is tailored to your system's specific situation, size, and regulatory history.
Nevada public water systems are regulated by the Bureau of Safe Drinking Water (BSDW) within the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. While Nevada's regulatory framework parallels federal Safe Drinking Water Act requirements, there are important state-specific differences in monitoring schedules, reporting requirements, and operator certification standards.
Aqua Solutions serves Nevada community water systems in Clark County and surrounding areas with the same depth of compliance support provided to California clients — including sanitary survey preparation, violation response, documentation development, and operator support.
Contact Us — Nevada Service AvailableRegulatory authority: Nevada Division of Environmental Protection — Bureau of Safe Drinking Water (BSDW). Most services delivered remotely with on-site availability in Southern Nevada.
For urgent compliance situations — active violations, imminent deadlines, or compliance orders with short response windows — we prioritize rapid response. Contact us immediately and we will assess your situation within 24 hours and provide a clear action plan. Do not let DDW deadlines pass without a formal response.
Yes. Even with a survey scheduled in the near term, a focused pre-survey audit can identify and help resolve the most significant documentation and records gaps before DDW arrives. The sooner you contact us, the more we can accomplish before the survey date. Call us immediately if your survey is within 30 days.
Absolutely. Board education is one of the most valuable services we provide to small water systems. We can present a plain-language regulatory overview to your board, explain the consequences of non-compliance, and help the board understand its governance responsibilities under state drinking water law. A well-informed board makes better compliance decisions.
Yes. We assist water systems with DRINC submissions, SWRCB annual compliance reports, and other electronic reporting requirements. We also help systems establish recordkeeping systems that make annual reporting straightforward and audit-ready — reducing the burden on your operator year after year.
Yes — mutual water companies with volunteer boards are exactly the type of system we are built to serve. We understand that your board members are not water professionals, and we provide compliance support that is practical, clearly explained, and scaled to what your system actually needs. You do not need a large firm — you need the right consultant.
A California SWRCB sanitary survey is a comprehensive evaluation of a public water system's infrastructure, operations, and management practices. Inspectors from the Division of Drinking Water (DDW) review your source water protection, treatment processes, distribution system condition, operator qualifications, monitoring and reporting compliance, financial stability, and emergency response preparedness. Deficiencies found during the survey result in findings that must be corrected within specified timeframes. Aqua Solutions Consulting helps systems prepare for sanitary surveys by auditing your program documentation and compliance records in advance.
Preparation for a Division of Drinking Water inspection starts with making sure your compliance documentation is complete, current, and organized. This includes your cross-connection control program, backflow device records, water quality monitoring results, operator certifications, emergency response plan, Consumer Confidence Report, and annual electronic report (eAR). Aqua Solutions Consulting performs pre-inspection compliance audits to identify gaps before the inspector does — giving your system time to correct deficiencies.
Sanitary survey findings are classified by severity. Significant deficiencies require corrective action plans and follow-up verification. Repeat or unaddressed findings can result in compliance orders, fines, or SWRCB-mandated management changes. The best approach is proactive — keeping your program documentation current, your operators certified, and your compliance records audit-ready at all times. Aqua Solutions Consulting helps small systems build compliance programs that hold up under regulatory scrutiny.
A Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) is an annual water quality report that every community water system is required to deliver to its customers by July 1 each year. The CCR summarizes your water sources, detected contaminants, compliance status, and any violations from the prior calendar year. CCRs must follow strict EPA and DDW formatting requirements. Aqua Solutions Consulting prepares CCRs from your raw lab data and monitoring records, formatted for both print distribution and digital delivery.
Yes — California community water systems are required to submit an annual electronic report (eAR) through the SWRCB's SDWIS platform. The eAR captures system-level data including source information, treatment, distribution, monitoring schedules, and compliance actions. Many small systems struggle with the eAR's data requirements. Aqua Solutions Consulting compiles, reviews, and prepares your eAR data for accurate and on-time submission.
Whether you are facing an active DDW compliance issue, preparing for an upcoming sanitary survey, or simply want to understand where your system stands — Aqua Solutions Consulting provides the regulatory expertise and hands-on support that small water systems need.
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