REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
December 16, 2025
FROM
NOEL CASTILLO, Director, Department of Public Work - Special Districts
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Agreement with the State Water Resources Control Board for the Provision of Bottled Drinking Water
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 23-104 with the State Water Resources Control Board as reimbursement of cost, effective January 1, 2025, and extending the term three years, for a total contract period of January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2028, with no change to the contract amount of $747,656, for continuing the distribution of bottled drinking water to residents served by County Service Area 70 F (Little Morongo) and County Service Area W-3 (Hacienda Heights) as well as any other State Water Resource Control Board approved households served by a County Service Area water system, with populations of less than 1,000, that do not currently have any other bottled water programs serving the area.
(Presenter: Noel Castillo, Director, 387-7906)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). Costs to the County, County Service Area 70 F (Little Morongo) (CSA 70 F), County Service Area 70 W-3 (Hacienda Heights) (CSA 70 W-3), and any other County Service Area (CSA), subject to approval by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), for providing bottled water service will be reimbursed through grant funding from the SWRCB via the Safe and Affordable Funding of Equity and Resiliency Drinking Water Program. Agreement No. 23-104, in the amount of up to $747,656, does not require a local match. Sufficient appropriation for the costs of providing bottled drinking water has been included in the CSA 70 F and CSA W-3 2025-26 budgets and will be included in future recommended budgets as needed.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Department of Public Works - Special Districts (Department), through its Water and Sanitation Division, oversees the management, operations, and maintenance of CSA water systems for various water districts throughout portions of the unincorporated areas of the county. These water districts include CSA 70 F (307 residents) and CSA 70 W-3 (611 residents) that service the communities of Little Morongo and Hacienda Heights, respectively.
On February 14, 2017 (Item No. 78), the Board of Supervisors (Board), approved grant funding agreements for CSA 70 F (Agreement No. 17-101) and CSA 70 W-3 (Agreement No. 17-99) with the SWRCB for reimbursement of costs for providing bottled drinking water to its customers from September 1, 2016, through April 1, 2019. These agreements were in response to CSA 70 F and CSA 70 W-3 having domestic water wells containing some form of detectable constituent that exceeded the Maximum Contaminant Levels for gross alpha and uranium for a public water system.
On April 16, 2019 (Item No. 49), the Board approved Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 17-99 and Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No 17-101 that extended the grant period by 21 months, for the term of September 1, 2016 through December 31, 2021.
Following the expiration of the grant funding agreements on December 31, 2021, SWRCB created a new bottled water grant with a start date of January 1, 2022. On February 7, 2023 (Item No. 35), the Board approved Agreement No. 23-104 with SWCB, in the amount of $747,656 effective January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2025.
The County’s bottled water grant is funded by the SWRCB under the Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resiliency Drinking Water Program. Amendment No. 1 will begin on January 1, 2026, and expire December 31, 2028.
Approval of this item will continue the distribution of bottled drinking water to residents of CSA 70 F and CSA 70 W-3, as well as expanding the bottle water services, upon approval by SWRCB, to any other CSA with water system populations of less than 1,000 that have urgent drinking water needs and do not currently have any other bottled water programs serving the area. Under the amendment to the existing grant funding agreement, costs for distributing bottled water from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2028, are eligible for reimbursement. The funding from this agreement will continue to help offset the costs of providing an interim solution for water quality issues in CSA 70 F, CSA 70 W-3, and any other SWRCB-approved CSA within the County.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on October 28, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Amanda Trussell, Principal Administrative Analyst, 387-5424) on November 26, 2025.