Ordinance No. NS-XXX
ORDINANCE NO. NS-XXX
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, ADDING SECTION 39-43 TO ARTICLE II OF CHAPTER 39
OF THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH CITY COUNCIL
APPROVAL OF CHANGES AFFECTING CITY DRINKING WATER
QUALITY STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana owns and operates a public water system that provides drinking water to residents, businesses and other customers within its service area; and
WHEREAS, the City’s public water system is subject to applicable federal and state drinking water laws and regulations, including requirements administered by the California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, as well as the City’s Domestic Water Supply Permit and any binding orders issued by regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over the City’s water system; and WHEREAS, California Health and Safety Code section 116375 authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board to adopt primary drinking water standards. State law establishes statewide drinking water requirements that public water systems must meet. However, City may establish drinking water standards that are more protective than applicable state or federal minimum requirements, but may not adopt or implement standards that are less protective than mandatory state or federal requirements; and WHEREAS, federal and state drinking water standards and regulations may be adopted, amended, suspended, rescinded, waived or otherwise modified over time.
Such changes may increase, decrease or otherwise alter regulatory requirements applicable to the City’s water system; and
WHEREAS, changes to drinking water standards and regulations may affect public-health protections, treatment requirements, monitoring and reporting, water-system operations, infrastructure planning and costs; and WHEREAS, on June 16, 2026, the City Council approved an item directing staff to draft an ordinance requiring City Council review and approval of any changes to the City’s Drinking Water Standards and Regulations; and
WHEREAS, the City Council intends this approval requirement to apply to changes that affect the City’s drinking water quality standards and regulations, while allowing City staff to comply promptly with mandatory federal or state law, permit requirements and binding regulatory orders; and
Exhibit 2
Ordinance No. NS-XXX
WHEREAS, certain requirements imposed by federal or state law, the City’s Domestic Water Supply Permit, or a binding regulatory order may become effective there is sufficient time to complete the City Council process. Nothing in this ordinance is intended to authorize, require, or result in any violation of the City’s compliance with such requirements; and
WHEREAS, the City Council also desires timely public review of proposed federal or state regulatory changes that may affect the City’s drinking water standards so that the City may evaluate the potential effects, participate in regulatory proceedings when appropriate and consider whether a more protective local standard is legally permissible.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Santa Ana does hereby ordain as follows:
SECTION 1. The recitals above are true, correct and each incorporated herein by reference and adopted as findings by the Santa Ana City Council (“City Council”).
SECTION 2. Section 39-43 is hereby added to the Santa Ana Municipal Code to read in full as follows:
Sec. 39-43. City Council review and approval of changes to City drinking water quality standards and regulations.
(a) Purpose.
The purpose of this section is to provide for transparent public review and City Council approval of discretionary changes to the City drinking water quality standards and regulations, whether a proposed change would increase, decrease or otherwise modify the applicable level of protection, while preserving the City’s ability to comply fully and without delay with federal and state law, applicable permits, binding regulatory orders, and emergencies affecting public health or water service. (b) Definitions.
For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
1. Applicable requirement means any federal or state law or regulation, permit condition, legally binding directive, compliance schedule, enforcement order or other legally binding requirement applicable to the City’s public water system.
2. Change means the adoption, amendment, suspension, rescission, waiver or other modification of a City drinking water standard or regulation. A change does not include a routine operational, maintenance, treatment, engineering, monitoring, testing, reporting, or administrative decision that does not itself adopt, amend, suspend, rescind, waive or otherwise modify a City drinking water standard or regulation.
Ordinance No. NS-XXX
3. City drinking water standard or regulation means any ordinance, resolution, formally adopted policy, rule, or other requirement adopted by the City that establishes a requirement, limitation, performance standard, or objective concerning the quality, treatment, monitoring, testing, reporting, or delivery of drinking water by the City's public water system.
(c) City Council approval required.
1. No change to a City drinking water standard or regulation shall be adopted without first being presented to and approved by the City Council, except as provided in subsection (e) for compliance with a mandatory external requirement or subsection (f) for emergency or protective actions.
2. The approval requirement applies whether the proposed change originates with City staff or is necessary to conform to a final federal or state requirement, permit condition, or binding regulatory order; provided, however, that subsection (e) shall govern when compliance is required before City Council approval can reasonably be obtained.
3. For a change within the City’s discretion, the City Council may approve, modify or reject the proposed change or direct staff to conduct additional analysis before implementation. No Council action under this subsection may authorize a violation of an applicable requirement.
4. City Council approval may be provided by resolution or through another form of Council action determined appropriate by the City Attorney. (d) Review of proposed federal or state regulatory changes.
1. When a federal or state agency proposes a regulatory change that may reasonably require or result in a change to a City drinking water standard or regulation, the Executive Director of Public Works, or designee, shall present the matter to the City Council when reasonably practicable and sufficiently in advance of the applicable public-comment deadline.
2. If a public-comment deadline does not permit sufficient time to obtain prior City Council direction, the City Manager or Executive Director of Public Works may submit technical comments or other comments within the scope of their existing authority on behalf of the City to meet the applicable deadline. Any such comments submitted shall be reported to the City Council at the next available regular meeting.
(e) Final or mandatory external requirements.
1. When a federal or state requirement, applicable permit condition, or binding regulatory order becomes final and requires a change to a City drinking water standard or regulation, the Executive Director of Public Works, or designee, shall present the conforming change to the City Council for approval before the Ordinance No. NS-XXX
date by which the City’s standard must be changed, when reasonably practicable.
2. If a mandatory implementation deadline, permit requirement, regulatory order, public health condition, or need to maintain reliable water service requires action before City Council approval can reasonably be obtained, City staff may take the operational, treatment, monitoring, reporting, notification or other action necessary to comply with the applicable requirement.
3. When City staff acts under paragraph (2), the Executive Director of Public Works, or designee, shall present any necessary conforming change to a City drinking water standard or regulation to the City Council for approval as soon as reasonably practicable. Staff shall also report the action already taken to maintain compliance.
(f) Emergency and protective actions.
Nothing in this section shall prevent the City Manager, the Executive Director of Public Works or their authorized designees from temporarily suspending, modifying, or deviating from a City drinking water standard or regulation when reasonably necessary to:
1. Protect public health;
2. Respond to a water-quality condition or emergency;
3. Prevent or correct a violation of an applicable requirement;
4. Comply with the City’s Domestic Water Supply Permit or a binding regulatory order; or
5. Maintain reliable water service.
Any temporary suspension, modification, or deviation under this subsection shall remain in effect only for the duration reasonably necessary to address the emergency or comply with the applicable requirement. Any such action shall be presented to City Council as soon as reasonably practicable, and any resulting change to a City drinking water standard or regulation shall be presented to the City Council for approval. (g) Preservation of operational authority.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority otherwise provided by law, permit, ordinance, resolution, policy, or City Council action to City officers, employees, operators, engineers, or other authorized personnel to operate, maintain, monitor, test, treat, or manage the City's public water system, provided that such actions do not themselves constitute a change to a City drinking water standard or regulation.
SECTION 3. Environmental Review.
Ordinance No. NS-XXX
The City Council finds and determines, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the CEQA Guidelines, that the introduction and adoption of this ordinance is not subject to CEQA because the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment (Title 14 California Code of Regulations (CCR) § 15060(c)(2) and the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines because the ordinance is an organization administrative activity which establishes a process for City Council review and approval of discretionary and mandatory changes to City drinking water standards and regulations and does not itself authorize or require any physical alteration, construction, expansion, or other physical change to the City's public water system or the environment. (14 CCR §§ 15060(c)(3) and 15378(b)(5).) Additionally, the ordinance is exempt from CEQA because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the adoption of this ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment. (14 CCR § 15061(b)(3).)
SECTION 4. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phase, or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance, and each section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses, phrases or portions might subsequently be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after its adoption.
SECTION 6. Publication. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause the same to be posted as required by law.
Ordinance No. NS-XXX
ADOPTED this ___ day of __________________, 2026.
_______________________
Valerie Amezcua
Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Sonia R. Carvalho, City Attorney
_______________________________
Kyle Nellesen
Assistant City Attorney
AYES: Councilmembers: ________________________________________ NOES: Councilmembers: ________________________________________ ABSTAIN: Councilmembers: ________________________________________ NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers: ________________________________________
CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY
I, Jennifer L. Hall, City Clerk, do hereby attest to and certify the attached Ordinance No. NS-XXXX to be the original ordinance adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on _________________, 2026.
Date: ________________ ____________________________________ City Clerk
City of Santa Ana