(a) A water conservation plan for municipal water use
by public water suppliers must provide information in response to
the following. If the plan does not provide information for each requirement,
the public water supplier shall include in the plan an explanation
of why the requirement is not applicable.
(1) Minimum requirements. All water conservation plans
for municipal uses by public water suppliers must include the following
elements:
(A) a utility profile in accordance with the Texas
Water Use Methodology, including, but not limited to, information
regarding population and customer data, water use data (including
total gallons per capita per day (GPCD) and residential GPCD), water
supply system data, and wastewater system data;
(B) a record management system which allows for the
classification of water sales and uses into the most detailed level
of water use data currently available to it, including, if possible,
the sectors listed in clauses (i) - (vi) of this subparagraph. Any
new billing system purchased by a public water supplier must be capable
of reporting detailed water use data as described in clauses (i) -
(vi) of this subparagraph:
(i) residential;
(I) single family;
(II) multi-family;
(ii) commercial;
(iii) institutional;
(iv) industrial;
(v) agricultural; and,
(vi) wholesale.
(C) specific, quantified five-year and ten-year targets
for water savings to include goals for water loss programs and goals
for municipal use in total GPCD and residential GPCD. The goals established
by a public water supplier under this subparagraph are not enforceable;
(D) metering device(s), within an accuracy of plus
or minus 5.0% in order to measure and account for the amount of water
diverted from the source of supply;
(E) a program for universal metering of both customer
and public uses of water, for meter testing and repair, and for periodic
meter replacement;
(F) measures to determine and control water loss (for
example, periodic visual inspections along distribution lines; annual
or monthly audit of the water system to determine illegal connections;
abandoned services; etc.);
(G) a program of continuing public education and information
regarding water conservation;
(H) a water rate structure which is not "promotional,"
i.e., a rate structure which is cost-based and which does not encourage
the excessive use of water;
(I) a reservoir systems operations plan, if applicable,
providing for the coordinated operation of reservoirs owned by the
applicant within a common watershed or river basin in order to optimize
available water supplies; and
(J) a means of implementation and enforcement which
shall be evidenced by:
(i) a copy of the ordinance, resolution, or tariff
indicating official adoption of the water conservation plan by the
water supplier; and
(ii) a description of the authority by which the water
supplier will implement and enforce the conservation plan; and
(K) documentation of coordination with the regional
water planning groups for the service area of the public water supplier
in order to ensure consistency with the appropriate approved regional
water plans.
(2) Additional content requirements. Water conservation
plans for municipal uses by public drinking water suppliers serving
a current population of 5,000 or more and/or a projected population
of 5,000 or more within the next ten years subsequent to the effective
date of the plan must include the following elements:
(A) a program of leak detection, repair, and water
loss accounting for the water transmission, delivery, and distribution
system;
(B) a requirement in every wholesale water supply contract
entered into or renewed after official adoption of the plan (by either
ordinance, resolution, or tariff), and including any contract extension,
that each successive wholesale customer develop and implement a water
conservation plan or water conservation measures using the applicable
elements in this chapter. If the customer intends to resell the water,
the contract between the initial supplier and customer must provide
that the contract for the resale of the water must have water conservation
requirements so that each successive customer in the resale of the
water will be required to implement water conservation measures in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(3) Additional conservation strategies. Any combination
of the following strategies shall be selected by the water supplier,
in addition to the minimum requirements in paragraphs (1) and (2)
of this subsection, if they are necessary to achieve the stated water
conservation goals of the plan. The commission may require that any
of the following strategies be implemented by the water supplier if
the commission determines that the strategy is necessary to achieve
the goals of the water conservation plan:
(A) conservation-oriented water rates and water rate
structures such as uniform or increasing block rate schedules, and/or
seasonal rates, but not flat rate or decreasing block rates;
(B) adoption of ordinances, plumbing codes, and/or
rules requiring water-conserving plumbing fixtures to be installed
in new structures and existing structures undergoing substantial modification
or addition;
(C) a program for the replacement or retrofit of water-conserving
plumbing fixtures in existing structures;
(D) reuse and/or recycling of wastewater and/or graywater;
(E) a program for pressure control and/or reduction
in the distribution system and/or for customer connections;
(F) a program and/or ordinance(s) for landscape water
management;
(G) a method for monitoring the effectiveness and efficiency
of the water conservation plan; and
(H) any other water conservation practice, method,
or technique which the water supplier shows to be appropriate for
achieving the stated goal or goals of the water conservation plan.
(b) A water conservation plan prepared in accordance
with 31 TAC §363.15 (relating to Required Water Conservation
Plan) of the Texas Water Development Board and substantially meeting
the requirements of this section and other applicable commission rules
may be submitted to meet application requirements in accordance with
a memorandum of understanding between the commission and the Texas
Water Development Board.
(c) A public water supplier for municipal use shall
review and update its water conservation plan, as appropriate, based
on an assessment of previous five-year and ten-year targets and any
other new or updated information. The public water supplier for municipal
use shall review and update the next revision of its water conservation
plan every five years to coincide with the regional water planning
group.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §288.2 adopted to be effective May 3, 1993, 18 TexReg 2558; amended to be effective February 21, 1999, 24 TexReg 949; amended to be effective April 27, 2000, 25 TexReg 3544; amended to be effective October 7, 2004, 29 TexReg 9384; amended to be effective December 6, 2012, 37 TexReg 9515 |