Drinking water tested positive for E. Coli

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?Califonia I recently had our drinking water tested for Coliform and E. Coli and it was positive. Our sewage runs into a cess pool and leaks into the stream where our water comes from. I am new to this state and would like advice on what i should do...Where do I start?? I rent this house and need to find out my legal rights>> Thanks so much for any help

be prepared to move if your county condemns the house because of septic system failure. First you failied to say wether you notified your LL in a certified letter of the findings of the test result. SO have you notified your LL ?

Get bottled water to drink and bathe, wash clothes at a laundermat.
Contact your city/town permits department they can refer you appropriately.
Notify your landlord.
CA Civil Code
(1941.) Section Nineteen Hundred and Forty-one. The lessor of a
building intended for the occupation of human beings must, in the
absence of an agreement to the contrary, put it into a condition fit
for such occupation, and repair all subsequent dilapidations thereof,
which render it untenantable, except such as are mentioned in
section nineteen hundred and twenty-nine.



1941.1. A dwelling shall be deemed untenantable for purposes of
Section 1941 if it substantially lacks any of the following
affirmative standard characteristics or is a residential unit
described in Section 17920.3 or 17920.10 of the Health and Safety
Code:
(a) Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and
exterior walls, including unbroken windows and doors.
(b) Plumbing or gas facilities that conformed to applicable law in
effect at the time of installation, maintained in good working
order.
(c) A water supply approved under applicable law that is under the
control of the tenant, capable of producing hot and cold running
water, or a system that is under the control of the landlord, that
produces hot and cold running water, furnished to appropriate
fixtures, and connected to a sewage disposal system approved under
applicable law.
(d) Heating facilities that conformed with applicable law at the
time of installation, maintained in good working order.
(e) Electrical lighting, with wiring and electrical equipment that
conformed with applicable law at the time of installation,
maintained in good working order.
(f) Building, grounds, and appurtenances at the time of the
commencement of the lease or rental agreement, and all areas under
control of the landlord, kept in every part clean, sanitary, and free
from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents,
and vermin.
(g) An adequate number of appropriate receptacles for garbage and
rubbish, in clean condition and good repair at the time of the
commencement of the lease or rental agreement, with the landlord
providing appropriate serviceable receptacles thereafter and being
responsible for the clean condition and good repair of the
receptacles under his or her control.
(h) Floors, stairways, and railings maintained in good repair.



1941.2. (a) No duty on the part of the landlord to repair a
dilapidation shall arise under Section 1941 or 1942 if the tenant is
in substantial violation of any of the following affirmative
obligations, provided the tenant's violation contributes
substantially to the existence of the dilapidation or interferes
substantially with the landlord's obligation under Section 1941 to
effect the necessary repairs:
(1) To keep that part of the premises which he occupies and uses
clean and sanitary as the condition of the premises permits.
(2) To dispose from his dwelling unit of all rubbish, garbage and
other waste, in a clean and sanitary manner.
(3) To properly use and operate all electrical, gas and plumbing
fixtures and keep them as clean and sanitary as their condition
permits.
(4) Not to permit any person on the premises, with his permission,
to willfully or wantonly destroy, deface, damage, impair or remove
any part of the structure or dwelling unit or the facilities,
equipment, or appurtenances thereto, nor himself do any such thing.
(5) To occupy the premises as his abode, utilizing portions
thereof for living, sleeping, cooking or dining purposes only which
were respectively designed or intended to be used for such
occupancies.
(b) Paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) shall not apply if
the landlord has expressly agreed in writing to perform the act or
acts mentioned therein.


1941.3. (a) On and after July 1, 1998, the landlord, or his or her
agent, of a building intended for human habitation shall do all of
the following:
(1) Install and maintain an operable dead bolt lock on each main
swinging entry door of a dwelling unit. The dead bolt lock shall be
installed in conformance with the manufacturer's specifications and
shall comply with applicable state and local codes including, but not
limited to, those provisions relating to fire and life safety and
accessibility for the disabled. When in the locked position, the
bolt shall extend a minimum of 13/16 of an inch in length beyond the
strike edge of the door and protrude into the doorjamb.
This section shall not apply to horizontal sliding doors.
Existing dead bolts of at least one-half inch in length shall satisfy
the requirements of this section. Existing locks with a thumb-turn
deadlock that have a strike plate attached to the doorjamb and a
latch bolt that is held in a vertical position by a guard bolt, a
plunger, or an auxiliary mechanism shall also satisfy the
requirements of this section. These locks, however, shall be
replaced with a dead bolt at least 13/16 of an inch in length the
first time after July 1, 1998, that the lock requires repair or
replacement.
Existing doors which cannot be equipped with dead bolt locks shall
satisfy the requirements of this section if the door is equipped
with a metal strap affixed horizontally across the midsection of the
door with a dead bolt which extends 13/16 of an inch in length beyond
the strike edge of the door and protrudes into the doorjamb. Locks
and security devices other than those described herein which are
inspected and approved by an appropriate state or local government
agency as providing adequate security shall satisfy the requirements
of this section.
(2) Install and maintain operable window security or locking
devices for windows that are designed to be opened. Louvered
windows, casement windows, and all windows more than 12 feet
vertically or six feet horizontally from the ground, a roof, or any
other platform are excluded from this subdivision.
(3) Install locking mechanisms that comply with applicable fire
and safety codes on the exterior doors that provide ingress or egress
to common areas with access to dwelling units in multifamily
developments. This paragraph does not require the installation of a
door or gate where none exists on January 1, 1998.
(b) The tenant shall be responsible for notifying the owner or his
or her authorized agent when the tenant becomes aware of an
inoperable dead bolt lock or window security or locking device in the
dwelling unit. The landlord, or his or her authorized agent, shall
not be liable for a violation of subdivision (a) unless he or she
fails to correct the violation within a reasonable time after he or
she either has actual notice of a deficiency or receives notice of a
deficiency.
(c) On and after July 1, 1998, the rights and remedies of tenant
for a violation of this section by the landlord shall include those
available pursuant to Sections 1942, 1942.4, and 1942.5, an action
for breach of contract, and an action for injunctive relief pursuant
to Section 526 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Additionally, in an
unlawful detainer action, after a default in the payment of rent, a
tenant may raise the violation of this section as an affirmative
defense and shall have a right to the remedies provided by Section
1174.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(d) A violation of this section shall not broaden, limit, or
otherwise affect the duty of care owed by a landlord pursuant to
existing law, including any duty that may exist pursuant to Section
1714. The delayed applicability of the requirements of subdivision
(a) shall not affect a landlord's duty to maintain the premises in
safe condition.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any
authority of any public entity that may otherwise exist to impose any
additional security requirements upon a landlord.
(f) This section shall not apply to any building which has been
designated as historically significant by an appropriate local,
state, or federal governmental jurisdiction.
(g) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to any building
intended for human habitation which is managed, directly or
indirectly, and controlled by the Department of Transportation. This
exemption shall not be construed to affect the duty of the
Department of Transportation to maintain the premises of these
buildings in a safe condition or abrogate any express or implied
statement or promise of the Department of Transportation to provide
secure premises. Additionally, this exemption shall not apply to
residential dwellings acquired prior to July 1, 1997, by the
Department of Transportation to complete construction of state
highway routes 710 and 238 and related interchanges.

Wow, this sounds like a really bad set up, you need to do something about it. One thing for you to think about is that it is illegal to discharge sewage into a surface water body in California (or any other state in the US) without a permit. So if it’s your sewage you may be breaking the law even if you are a renter.

The good news (if there is any) is that if your sewage is the only sewage going into the stream you are probably safe, you can’t give yourself anything you don’t already have. But I sure wouldn’t want to go over to your house for dinner.

One positive coliform/ecoli test may not be sufficient to prove the water supply contaminated. I have pasted in below the Federal EPA standard for coliform.

More bad news is you should not be drinking untreated stream water. I guess I assume it is untreated if you have coliform in it. Untreated surface water unless it comes from a protected spring is never safe, who knows what’s going on upstream.

Good Luck,



A water supply violates the coliform drinking water standard if: “more than 5.0% samples total coliform-positive in a month. (For water systems that collect fewer than 40 routine samples per month, no more than one sample can be total coliform-positive per month.) Every sample that has total coliform must be analyzed for either fecal coliforms or E. coli if two consecutive TC-positive samples, and one is also positive for E.coli fecal coliforms, system has an acute MCL violation.”