ELR Citation: ELR 20249
No(s). H030647 (Cal. App. 6th Dist. Sep 25, 2007)

A California appellate court held that provisions of the California Safe Drinking Water Act impose upon a county a mandatory duty under Cal. Gov. Code §815.6 to review and respond to water quality monitoring reports submitted by water systems for which the county is responsible. The case involves a suit brought by the former residents of a mobile home park alleging that the park's water was contaminated with dangerously high levels of naturally occurring fluoride. Because the residents' complaint sufficiently alleged the elements necessary for liability under §815.6, and because no statutory immunity protects the county from liability for a breach of that duty, a lower court decision sustaining the county's demurrer to the residents' complaint was reversed.