| (A) Plumbing Inspectors and Water Supply Protection
Specialists licensed by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners
(TSBPE).
(B) Customer service inspectors who have completed
a commission-approved course, passed an examination administered by
the executive director, and hold current professional license as a
customer service inspector.
(2) As potential contaminant hazards are discovered,
they shall be promptly eliminated to prevent possible contamination
of the water supplied by the public water system. The existence of
a health hazard, as identified in §290.47(f) of this title, shall
be considered sufficient grounds for immediate termination of water
service. Service can be restored only when the health hazard no longer
exists, or until the health hazard has been isolated from the public
water system in accordance with §290.44(h) of this title (relating
to Water Distribution).
(3) These customer service inspection requirements
are not considered acceptable substitutes for and shall not apply
to the sanitary control requirements stated in §290.102(a)(5)
of this title (relating to General Applicability).
(4) A customer service inspection is an examination
of the private water distribution facilities for the purpose of providing
or denying water service. This inspection is limited to the identification
and prevention of cross-connections, potential contaminant hazards,
and illegal lead materials. The customer service inspector has no
authority or obligation beyond the scope of the commission's regulations.
A customer service inspection is not a plumbing inspection as defined
and regulated by the TSBPE. A customer service inspector is not permitted
to perform plumbing inspections. State statutes and TSBPE adopted
rules require that TSBPE licensed plumbing inspectors perform plumbing
inspections of all new plumbing and alterations or additions to existing
plumbing within the municipal limits of all cities, towns, and villages
which have passed an ordinance adopting one of the plumbing codes
recognized by TSBPE. Such entities may stipulate that the customer
service inspection be performed by the plumbing inspector as a part
of the more comprehensive plumbing inspection. Where such entities
permit customer service inspectors to perform customer service inspections,
the customer service inspector shall report any violations immediately
to the local entity's plumbing inspection department.
(k) Interconnection. No physical connection between
the distribution system of a public drinking water supply and that
of any other water supply shall be permitted unless the other water
supply is of a safe, sanitary quality and the interconnection is approved
by the executive director.
(l) Flushing of mains. All dead-end mains must be flushed
at monthly intervals. Dead-end lines and other mains shall be flushed
as needed if water quality complaints are received from water customers
or if disinfectant residuals fall below acceptable levels as specified
in §290.110 of this title.
(m) Maintenance and housekeeping. The maintenance and
housekeeping practices used by a public water system shall ensure
the good working condition and general appearance of the system's
facilities and equipment. The grounds and facilities shall be maintained
in a manner so as to minimize the possibility of the harboring of
rodents, insects, and other disease vectors, and in such a way as
to prevent other conditions that might cause the contamination of
the water.
(1) Each of the system's ground, elevated, and pressure
tanks shall be inspected annually by water system personnel or a contracted
inspection service.
(A) Ground and elevated storage tank inspections must
determine that the vents are in place and properly screened, the roof
hatches closed and locked, flap valves and gasketing provide adequate
protection against insects, rodents, and other vermin, the interior
and exterior coating systems are continuing to provide adequate protection
to all metal surfaces, and the tank remains in a watertight condition.
(B) Pressure tank inspections must determine that the
pressure release device and pressure gauge are working properly, the
air-water ratio is being maintained at the proper level, the exterior
coating systems are continuing to provide adequate protection to all
metal surfaces, and the tank remains in watertight condition. Pressure
tanks provided with an inspection port must have the interior surface
inspected every five years.
(C) All tanks shall be inspected annually to determine
that instrumentation and controls are working properly.
(2) When pressure filters are used, a visual inspection
of the filter media and internal filter surfaces shall be conducted
annually to ensure that the filter media is in good condition and
the coating materials continue to provide adequate protection to internal
surfaces.
(3) When cartridge filters are used, filter cartridges
shall be changed at the frequency required by the manufacturer, or
more frequently if needed.
(4) All water treatment units, storage and pressure
maintenance facilities, distribution system lines, and related appurtenances
shall be maintained in a watertight condition and be free of excessive
solids.
(5) Basins used for water clarification shall be maintained
free of excessive solids to prevent possible carryover of sludge and
the formation of tastes and odors.
(6) Pumps, motors, valves, and other mechanical devices
shall be maintained in good working condition.
(7) Reverse osmosis or nanofiltration membrane systems
shall be cleaned, or replaced, in accordance with the allowable operating
conditions of the manufacturer and shall be based on one or more of
the following: increased salt passage, increased or decreased pressure
differential, and/or change in normalized permeate flow.
(n) Engineering plans and maps. Plans, specifications,
maps, and other pertinent information shall be maintained to facilitate
the operation and maintenance of the system's facilities and equipment.
The following records shall be maintained on file at the public water
system and be available to the executive director upon request.
(1) Accurate and up-to-date detailed as-built plans
or record drawings and specifications for each treatment plant, pump
station, and storage tank shall be maintained at the public water
system until the facility is decommissioned. As-built plans of individual
projects may be used to fulfill this requirement if the plans are
maintained in an organized manner.
(2) An accurate and up-to-date map of the distribution
system shall be available so that valves and mains can be easily located
during emergencies.
(3) Copies of well completion data as defined in §290.41(c)(3)(A)
of this title (relating to Water Sources) shall be kept on file for
as long as the well remains in service.
(o) Filter backwashing at surface water treatment plants.
Filters must be backwashed when a loss of head differential of six
to ten feet is experienced between the influent and effluent loss
of head gauges or when the turbidity level at the effluent of the
filter reaches 1.0 nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU).
(p) Data on public water system ownership and management.
The agency shall be provided with information regarding public water
system ownership and management.
(1) When a public water system changes ownership, a
written notice of the transaction must be provided to the executive
director. The grantee shall notify the executive director of the change
in ownership within 30 days after the effective date of the change
in ownership by providing the name of the grantor, the effective date
of the change in ownership, the physical and mailing address and phone
number of the grantee, the public water system's drinking water supply
identification number, and any other information necessary to identify
the transaction.
(2) On an annual basis, the owner of a public water
system shall provide the executive director with a list of all the
operators and operating companies that the public water system uses.
The notice shall contain the name, contact information, work status,
license number, and license class of each operator and the name and
registration number of each operating company. Public water systems
may report the list of operators and operating companies to the executive
director by utilizing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
(TCEQ) online "Operator Notice" form. If reporting cannot be accomplished
utilizing the TCEQ online "Operator Notice" form, then a public water
system may report the list of operators and operating companies on
the written "Operator Notice" form to the executive director by mail,
email or facsimile. (See §290.47(d) of this title).
(q) Special precautions, protective measures, and boil
water notices. Special precautions, protective measures, and boil
water notices shall be instituted by the public water system as specified
in this subsection in the event of low distribution pressures (below
20 pounds per square inch (psi)), water outages, microbiological samples
found to contain Escherichia coli (E. coli) (or
other approved fecal indicator), failure to maintain adequate disinfectant
residuals, elevated finished water turbidity levels, or other conditions
which indicate that the potability of the drinking water supply has
been compromised. Special precautions, protective measures, and boil
water notices are corrective or protective actions which shall be
instituted by the public water system to comply with the requirements
of this subsection.
(1) Boil water notices and rescind notices. A public
water system shall issue a boil water notice to customers throughout
the distribution system or in the affected area(s) of the distribution
system as soon as possible, but in no case later than 24 hours after
the public water system has met any of the criteria described in paragraphs
(2) - (5) of this subsection. Boil water notices shall be issued to
customers by using one or more of the Tier 1 delivery methods as described
in §290.122(a)(2) of this title (relating to Public Notification)
and using the applicable boil water notice language and format specified
in Figure: 30 TAC §290.47(c)(1) and (2) of this title. A copy
of this notice shall be provided to the executive director within
24 hours or no later than the next business day after issuance by
the public water system and a signed Certificate of Delivery shall
be provided to the executive director within ten days after issuance
by the public water system in accordance with §290.122(f) of
this title. The boil water notice shall be multilingual where appropriate
based upon local demographics. Once the boil water notice is no longer
in effect, the public water system shall notify customers throughout
the distribution system or in the affected area(s) of the distribution
system that the boil water notice has been rescinded using the language
and format specified in Figure: 30 TAC §290.47(c)(3) of this
title. A public water system shall not rescind a boil water notice
and/or notify customers that the boil water notice has been rescinded
until the public water system has met all of the applicable requirements
as described in paragraph (6) of this subsection.
(2) Boil water notices for low distribution pressures.
The flowchart found in §290.47(e) of this title shall be used
to determine if a boil water notice shall be issued by the public
water system to customers in the event of a loss of distribution system
pressure.
(3) Boil water notices for E.
coli (or other approved fecal indicator) maximum contaminant
level (MCL) violations. A public water system shall issue a boil water
notice to customers for a violation of the MCL for E. coli (or other approved fecal indicator)
as described in §290.109(b)(1) of this title.
(4) Boil water notices for turbidity requirements.
A public water system shall issue a boil water notice to customers
if the combined filter effluent turbidity of the finished water, produced
by a treatment plant that is treating surface water or groundwater
under the direct influence of surface water, is above the turbidity
level requirements as described in §290.122(a)(1)(B) of this
title, specifically:
(A) a combined filter effluent turbidity level above
5.0 NTU;
(B) a combined filter effluent turbidity level above
1.0 NTU at a treatment plant using membrane filters;
(C) a combined filter effluent turbidity level above
1.0 NTU at a plant using other than membrane filters at the discretion
of the executive director after consultation with the public water
system; or
(D) failure of a public water system with treatment
other than membrane filters to consult with the executive director
within 24 hours after a combined filter effluent reading of 1.0 NTU.
(5) Actions which may be required by the executive
director. Special precautions, protective measures, and boil water
notices may be required at the discretion of the executive director
and shall be instituted by the public water system, upon written notification
to the public water system, and shall remain in effect until the public
water system meets the requirements of subparagraph (C) of this paragraph
and paragraph (6) of this subsection.
(A) Circumstances warranting the exercise of such discretion
may include:
(i) the public water system has failed to provide any
of the required compliance information to the executive director as
described in §290.111(h)(2) of this title and the failure results
in the inability of the executive director to determine compliance
as described in §290.111(i) of this title or the existence of
a potential or actual health hazard, as described in §290.38
of this title;
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