The State of Washington's has 13,000 small water systems serving as few as 2 people. Two critical pieces of the state's small systems management program are: 1) a provision for receivership status for small systems through the Satellite System Management Agency; and 2) a requirement that small systems' water be certified "safe and adequate" for public and individual sources. The small systems comprise three groups: 1) systems with independent means to manage and finance themselves; 2) systems with 15-1000 services, which will require independent financing or a cooperative effort to achieve state and federal water quality regulations; and 3) systems with 2-15 customers who will probably not be able to meet state and federal requirements. Most systems in the last group will be required to merge with an adjacent system or transfer ownership to the state Satellite System Management Agency. Very few new systems will be created. The author describes the 10-step framework for implementing the program in cooperation with the states' and larger utilities' long-term plans.