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TITLE 30ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
PART 1TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
CHAPTER 290PUBLIC DRINKING WATER
SUBCHAPTER DRULES AND REGULATIONS FOR PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS
RULE §290.46Minimum Acceptable Operating Practices for Public Drinking Water Systems

    (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:

Cont'd...

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