This law states that any entity, such as a person, company, or corporation, that owns or manages a water system in California and provides water to others—whether they're individuals, businesses, or local governments—is considered a public utility. As a public utility, they're subject to state rules and oversight by the commission, unless there are specific exceptions noted in this chapter.

This law states that if a corporation or group, organized to supply water only to its members or shareholders at cost, also sells water to anyone else for money, including to the state, government agencies, or other water companies, it is considered a public utility. As a public utility, it must follow specific regulations and be under the commission's authority.

If a company or group supplies water both to its members at cost and to anyone else, like businesses or government entities, it's considered a public utility. This means it's regulated by the state commission just like other public utilities.

This law says that if you own a private water supply primarily used for your own home, business, or farm, and you have some extra water, you can sell or share it without government regulation. You can deliver the extra water for use in other homes, schools, or nearby farms. In emergencies, you can share water for one irrigation season. You can also help nearby neighbors if they don't have another water source. In these scenarios, you don't have to worry about being controlled by the regulatory commission.

This law states that a corporation or association focused on delivering water to its stockholders and members at cost, including activities like conserving and treating water, is not considered a public utility. This means it operates without oversight from the public utilities commission if it provides water only to its members or specific entities like government agencies and mutual water companies. However, such a company can still deliver water in certain situations without becoming a public utility, such as through written and approved leases to non-members, in emergencies, and through specific contracts related to litigation or water rights exchanges. All related documents must be kept for 10 years. 'Cost' means without profit in this context.

This law explains that if someone operates a mobile home park or an apartment complex and supplies water to residents using submeters, they’re not considered a public utility, and the Public Utilities Commission doesn’t regulate them. But, there's a catch—they must charge each resident the same rate they would pay if getting water directly from a water company, or they need to follow a specific rule from the Civil Code.

If a mobile home park provides water to its tenants using its own resources, it typically isn't considered a water company. But, if 10% of tenants file a complaint about unfair water rates or poor service, the commission can step in to review and potentially order changes.

Tenants must have lived in the park within the last five years to complain. Parks must notify tenants, in multiple languages, about how to complain each time water rates or services change. If parks don't provide notice, they could face penalties. If unfair rates have been charged since late 2012, the park might have to repay the affected tenants with interest, unless the rates were previously deemed fair by the commission.

This California law explains that entities selling or delivering water exclusively to a water conservation district are not considered public utilities. This also applies to those who lease ditches or water transmission facilities to such districts. It specifies that these activities do not mean those entities have committed their water rights or property for public use.

Additionally, entities selling or providing water at wholesale to public agencies or water utility providers are also not considered public utilities if their water isn't dedicated for public use. Mutual water companies are excluded from these rules.

This section allows the commission to conduct hearings and make determinations about who owns, controls, operates, or manages water systems or supplies in the state. Their findings on factual matters are final and cannot usually be challenged, except in certain situations outlined in another part of the law.

This law allows the state commission to regulate water companies that are unable to provide water to additional consumers without negatively impacting existing ones. After a hearing, if the commission finds that a water company's system is at capacity, it can order the company to stop providing water to new consumers. Conversely, if adding new consumers won't harm the current supply, the commission can allow the company to serve more people.

This law allows a regulatory body, called the commission, to ask a water company to submit a written description of the areas and land it serves with water.

This law says that if a water corporation in California has promised to serve more customers or land than it can actually handle, based on certain required documents, the commission can step in. After a hearing, they may limit the number of customers or the amount of land the company can serve to make sure they provide adequate service.

This law explains that if a corporation has supplied water to a territory before, certain exemptions don't apply. During water shortages, the corporation must treat all its consumers equally, sharing its water supply evenly without favoring anyone, whether they joined voluntarily or were required to be served.

This law makes it clear that nothing in Section 2701 allows public utilities to create contracts that would prevent the State or the appropriate regulatory bodies from controlling their rates and services. Essentially, utilities cannot use contracts to sidestep regulation.

This law states that water companies regulated by the commission can't charge fire service providers for water used in firefighting unless there's a written agreement. These companies must supply water for fire protection in emergencies within their service area. However, they can charge others (individuals or properties) for these services, provided it's allowed by other laws. 'Entity providing fire protection service' includes cities, counties, fire districts, or any public or private organization offering firefighting services.

This law states that a water company cannot make a new tenant pay for any unpaid water bills left by a previous tenant. However, the company can require new water services to be billed to the landlord or property owner instead.

Large water corporations with over 10,000 service connections must keep a public archive on their website of all advice letters—whether pending, approved, or rejected—for two rate case cycles or six years, whichever is shorter. They need to provide an easy-to-find link to each advice letter and keep them organized in numerical order. The company can maintain these letters either on a standalone site or alongside a list of current letters. There must also be a link to the commission’s advice letter index on the company's website. This rule applies to advice letters from January 1, 2019, onward, including all related documents unless marked confidential.