LOS BANOS, CA (August 15, 2025) — Senate Bill 466, the measure that would give water utilities limited legal protection while fixing chromium-6 problems, has been narrowed in Sacramento. The changes matter here at home: they keep a path for accountability in place while the city works under fast-arriving state deadlines, and a hefty price tag.
What Changed in SB 466
Early drafts offered sweeping protections to water agencies facing lawsuits tied to chromium-6 contamination. The current version is narrower: immunity applies only to civil suits by non-government entities and only while a water system is actively following an approved (or pending) State Water Board compliance plan. If the plan is rejected or the system isn’t following it, the protection drops. State enforcement and the Attorney General’s authority are unchanged.
The State Timeline (What to Watch Next)
California’s hexavalent chromium (Cr-6) drinking-water standard of 10 parts per billion took legal effect on October 1, 2024. Compliance deadlines are staggered by system size: 10,000+ service connections by Oct 1, 2026; 1,000–9,999 by Oct 1, 2027; fewer than 1,000 by Oct 1, 2028. All community systems had to take an initial Cr-6 sample within six months of the rule’s effective date (or use approved recent data), and if results exceed the limit before the applicable compliance date, the system must submit a compliance plan within 90 days.
What That Means Locally
Los Banos officials estimate about $65 million to bring the city’s groundwater system into full compliance — roughly half of the city’s annual budget. Leaders here and across the Valley argue that without some legal breathing room while big projects are built, ratepayers could end up paying more for lawsuits than for treatment. Coachella Valley Water District, for example, pegs its compliance costs at $350+ million and says large systems were given only two years to meet the new MCL.
SB 466 now offers a smaller legal safety net than it started with. The deadlines are fixed, the price is real, and community oversight is the lever that keeps accountability and affordability moving together.
