The California Water Boards' Annual Performance Report - Fiscal Year 2014-15

ENFORCE: NPDES WASTEWATER

GROUP:

ALL NPDES WASTEWATER FACILITIES

MEASURE: VIOLATION TRENDS. TOTAL BY YEAR

MESSAGE:

2014 continues the recent trend of decreasing violations at NPDES Wastewater Facilities.

*KEY STATISTICS*
Total Number of Violations in 2014:	3,833
Total Number of Violations in 2013:	4,108
Total Number of Violations in 2012:	4,641

MEASUREMENTS - Data last updated on: October 26, 2015

Regional Offices	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	Regional Office Total
1	886	617	432	493	678	526	434	444	927	328	299	216	332	482	629	7,723
2	531	477	272	246	305	241	339	295	240	195	207	352	574	330	237	4,841
3	344	382	295	210	396	385	382	458	143	159	154	157	223	304	318	4,310
4	2,044	2,346	2,522	2,878	2,061	2,038	2,442	2,162	2,328	2,136	1,893	1,955	1,485	1,215	965	30,470
5F	489	749	980	747	347	237	279	321	269	170	141	160	109	136	321	5,455
5R	251	96	114	73	80	145	159	109	61	145	196	200	160	291	105	2,185
5S	1,155	845	1,055	1,027	1,741	2,381	2,280	1,804	2,186	2,611	3,282	3,158	1,323	1,012	970	26,830
6A	10	11	22	8	8	3	1	3	33	101	36	26	5	1	0	268
6B	5	9	20	23	20	12	124	47	58	34	57	63	11	16	36	535
7	128	192	207	319	167	166	215	125	194	162	275	233	154	146	113	2,796
8	401	244	138	112	184	204	173	115	136	37	77	89	149	109	49	2,217
9	552	210	158	224	591	232	406	257	194	36	51	78	116	66	90	3,261
TOTAL	6,796	6,178	6,215	6,360	6,578	6,570	7,234	6,140	6,769	6,114	6,668	6,687	4,641	4,108	3,833	97,660

Click on a bar in the charts below, to show details for that region (third chart below).

WHAT THE MEASURE IS SHOWING

The number of total violations documented in calendar 2014 has dropped significantly since 2011. The largest changes have occurred in Region 5S and Region 4 which have since a 69% and 51% drop in violations respectively compared to 2011.

WHY THIS MEASURE IS IMPORTANT

Violations are detected through monitoring reports, inspections, and complaints. The enforcement policy requires that the Water Boards ensure that all violations are documented in the appropriate Water Board data management system. Identification and documentation of violations is important to ensure that water quality is protected and that serious and high priority violations receive an adequate enforcement response. Tracking violations and compliance rates over time is necessary to assess the effectiveness of the Water Boards enforcement policies and actions.

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Data Source: California Integrated Water Quality System (CIWQS).
Unit of Measure: Documented Violations. Violation date in calendar year 2014.
Data Definitions: Violations with status "violation".
References: The Water Boards' NPDES Program
Public Reports and Data
Office of Enforcement
The Water Boards' Enforcement Policy

GLOSSARY

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES): The NPDES permit program (Section 402 of the Clean Water Act ) controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. Point sources are discrete conveyances such as pipes or man-made ditches. Individual homes that are connected to a municipal system, use a septic system, or do not have a surface discharge do not need an NPDES permit; however, industrial, municipal, and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to surface waters. US EPA has approved the Water Board's program to issue NPDES permits.

( Page last updated: 11/30/15 )