DATE: December 9, 2025
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Second Hearing Amending Chapter 14.10 of the Fresno County Code (Cross Connection Controls for Public Water Systems of County Waterworks Districts and County Service Areas)
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Conduct second hearing and adopt the proposed Cross Connection Control Ordinance, amending the title of Chapter 14.10 of the Fresno County Code, amending Sections 14.10.020 and 14.10.080, including amending the title of 14.10.080, and adding Sections 14.10.081 through 14.10.087 thereof, relating to cross-connection protection requirements, water service termination for cross-connection hazard, cross-connection violation declared a public nuisance, enforcement and administrative citations, appeal of administrative citations and remedies; and waive reading of the Ordinance in its entirety.
REPORT
The recommended action will implement a Cross Connection Control Ordinance (Ordinance) which applies to County administered water systems (Districts) currently serving approximately 3,500 service connections, where the County is the purveyor of water services. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Staff have not identified any viable alternative. If the recommended actions are not approved, the Districts will be unable to comply with the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) requirement to complete a Cross Connection Control Plan (CCCP) for each District. The plan requires an Ordinance to establish the legal authority to carry out the CCCP. Failure to comply may result in the issuance of compliance, enforcement, or other corrective actions against each of the Districts.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. All costs associated with the Ordinance, including those associated with the Board hearing, are paid for by the 21 Districts which receive water services. All costs associated with the CCCP shall be paid from the water fees charged to the benefiting properties in the Districts.
DISCUSSION:
On November 18, 2025, your Board conducted the first hearing of the Ordinance.
County Service Areas and Waterworks Districts were created to provide water services to communities throughout Fresno County. The County includes 21 Districts serving approximately 3,500 water service connections. Potable water, raw well water, and reclaimed water are provided to the various Districts for drinking, household use, and irrigation.
Cross-connections are connections between a potable water supply and a non-potable source. Backflow is the reversal of flow of water or other substances into the distribution system, caused by a change in pressure. Backflows of non-potable water into the potable water source can occur when cross-connections are present, resulting in contamination of the water system.
Backflow prevention assemblies keep non-potable water from mixing with the potable water system in the event of a backflow.
To protect the Districts’ water systems from backflow contamination, the recommended Ordinance would require that all cross-connections within the Districts are equipped with a properly installed and functioning backflow prevention assembly. While the County Ordinance Code currently has provisions on backflow prevention, the proposed ordinance provides more comprehensive regulations on backflow and provides more authority to the Department in enforcing these regulations.
The recommended Ordinance will apply to all water service users that meet a specific hazard classification threshold, as determined by the County’s employed Cross-Connection Control Specialists.
The Department expects that most typical households will not require new backflow prevention assemblies because modern homes have plumbing that is already designed to prevent backflow.
The SWRCB requires each District to have a CCCP on file, indicating how hazard assessments will be conducted to identify potential cross-connections, outlining requirements for homeowners with cross-connections, including proper installation and annual testing of backflow prevention assemblies at the homeowner’s cost. The CCCP also includes requirements for responding to backflow incidents.
The recommended Ordinance provides the legal authority for the Director or designee to enforce the requirements within the CCCP, including an administrative citation of a $500 fine per violation for a failure to comply and termination of water service for identified hazards that present an apparent hazard to the District’s water system.
The recommended Ordinance provides, after an initial thirty (30) days’ notice given to the customer, for a fifteen-day warning notice followed by a forty-eight hour notice in cases where a customer fails or refuses to install or test a backflow prevention assembly in compliance with manufacturer specifications on the customer service property, or to repair or replace a defective backflow prevention assembly on the customer service property.
In the following cases, water service will be terminated after an initial notice period (e.g., Director or designee attempts to make on-site contact with the customer or any other person occupying the customer service property) that need not exceed three calendar days followed by the on-site posting of a forty-eight hour notice:
• There is a direct or indirect connection between the public water system and a sewer line, or a system or equipment containing contaminants; or
• There is an unprotected direct or indirect connection between the public water system and an auxiliary water system.
However, if a clear and present hazard to the water supply exists on the customer service property, the Department may immediately terminate water service, but, upon the termination of service, the Director or designee shall promptly post a notice on the customer service property within a reasonable time thereafter under the circumstances.
The recommended Ordinance also provides for an appeal process for administrative citations.
Lastly, the recommended Ordinance contains some clean-up language, such as clarification of Chapter 14.10 and definitions for Chapter 14.10.
If approved, the effective date of the new Ordinance is required to be at least 30 days after the second hearing. Therefore, the effective implementation date for the Ordinance is January 9, 2026.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #14, November 18, 2025
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Ordinance
Ordinance (Redline)
CAO ANALYST:
Maria Valencia