Accessibility
Built to reach every household
This site targets WCAG 2.1 Level AA, the standard public water systems are held to under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Water information is not optional reading. When an advisory goes out it has to reach the person using a screen reader, the person on a keyboard, the person on a five-year-old phone, and the person who reads Spanish. That is the job.
Reading language
The Water Quality Report and Notices & Advisories are published in Spanish. Other pages are English only for now; switching language leaves them in English rather than translating them by machine.
How this site is built for accessibility
Every chart is also a table
Each chart has a Chart | Table switch, and screen readers always get the full table. The service area map has the same table beside it, with every number the map shows.
The address lookup works by keyboard
Type, arrow down through the results, press Enter. The number of matches is spoken as you type, and nothing about finding your own service line needs a mouse.
Test results never rely on color
Every status carries an icon, a word, and a position against its limit. Print the water quality report in black and white and nothing is lost.
Published in Spanish
The Water Quality Report and the advisories page are translated by people, not machines. Anything without a published translation stays in English and is marked as English so a screen reader pronounces it correctly.
Numbers you can see
Values sit on the page, not behind a hover. Bars show their numbers, lines label their endpoints, and results print their units.
Motion is optional
Turn on reduced motion, in your device settings or our tools button, and every animation stops. Nothing flashes or auto-plays.
Plain language, defined in place
MCL, 90th percentile, action level, turbidity: every one of them is explained where it appears, not in a glossary on another page.
Data leaves with you
CSV, Excel, and JSON downloads are built in your browser and match exactly what you filtered on screen, including the service line inventory.
How we test
- Automated: every page runs automated accessibility checks with zero serious or critical problems allowed before anything is published.
- Keyboard walkthroughs: scripted tests tab through navigation, the address lookup, filters, charts, tables, the bill estimator, and downloads on every update.
- Real assistive technology: manual checks with VoiceOver and NVDA, 200% zoom, Windows High Contrast, and reduced motion.
- Honest limits: a machine cannot judge whether a description is truly clear, and it cannot judge a translation at all. People review both, and your reports below tell us what we missed.
Reading preferences
The floating tools button in the bottom corner of every page offers larger text, high contrast, reduced motion, and link highlighting. Your choices stay on this device only.
Something not working for you?
Tell us. We aim to respond within two business days and to fix confirmed barriers within ten. You can also call us at (555) 011-1954 or email access@caldwellwater.gov.