| (2) For wholesale water suppliers, minimum water system
capacity requirements shall be determined by calculating the requirements
based upon the number of retail customer service connections of that
wholesale water supplier, if any, fire flow capacities, if required
by §290.46(x) and (y) of this title and adding that amount to
the maximum amount of water obligated or pledged under all wholesale
contracts.
(3) Emergency power is required for each portion of
the system which supplies more than 250 connections under direct pressure
and does not provide an elevated storage capacity of at least 100
gallons per connection. If emergency power is required, it must be
sufficient to deliver 20% of the minimum required service pump capacity
and meet minimum pressure requirements in the event of the loss of
normal power supply. When the wholesaler provides water through an
air gap into the purchaser's storage facilities it will be the purchaser's
responsibility to meet all minimum water system capacity requirements
including emergency power. For wholesale contracts executed or amended
on or after January 1, 2025, the contract must specify if the wholesaler
will supply water, pressure, or both water and pressure during emergency
operations to comply with TWC §13.1394 or §13.1395.
(4) A wholesaler that is an affected utility, defined
in TWC §13.1394 or §13.1395, must meet the requirements
specified in subsection (h) or (i) of this section.
(f) Purchased water systems. The following requirements
apply only to systems which purchase treated water to meet all or
part of their production, storage, service pump, or pressure maintenance
capacity requirements.
(1) The water purchase contract must be available to
the executive director in order that production, storage, service
pump, or pressure maintenance capacity may be properly evaluated.
For purposes of this section, a contract may be defined as a signed
written document of specific terms agreeable to the water purchaser
and the water wholesaler, or in its absence, a memorandum or letter
of understanding between the water purchaser and the water wholesaler.
(2) The contract shall authorize the purchase of enough
water to meet the monthly or annual needs of the purchaser.
(3) The contract shall also establish the maximum rate
at which water may be drafted on a daily and hourly basis. In the
absence of specific maximum daily or maximum hourly rates in the contract,
a uniform purchase rate for the contract period will be used.
(4) The maximum authorized daily purchase rate specified
in the contract, or a uniform purchase rate in the absence of a specified
daily purchase rate, plus the actual production capacity of the system
must be at least 0.6 gpm per connection.
(5) For systems which purchase water under direct pressure,
the maximum hourly purchase authorized by the contract plus the actual
service pump capacity of the system must be at least 2.0 gpm per connection
or provide at least 1,000 gpm and be able to meet peak hourly demands,
whichever is less.
(6) The purchaser is responsible for meeting all capacity
requirements. If additional capacity to meet increased demands cannot
be attained from the wholesaler through a new or amended contract,
additional capacity must be obtained from water purchase contracts
with other entities, new wells, or surface water treatment facilities.
However, if the water purchase contract prohibits the purchaser from
securing water from sources other than the wholesaler, the wholesaler
is responsible for meeting applicable capacity requirements. For wholesale
contracts executed or amended on or after January 1, 2025, the contract
must specify if the wholesaler will supply water, pressure, or both
water and pressure during emergency operations to comply with TWC §13.1394
or §13.1395.
(7) All other minimum capacity requirements specified
in this section and §290.46(x) and (y) of this title shall apply.
(g) Alternative capacity requirements. Public water
systems may request approval to meet alternative capacity requirements
in lieu of the minimum capacity requirements specified in this section.
Any water system requesting to use an alternative capacity requirement
must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the executive director that
approving the request will not compromise the public health or result
in a degradation of service or water quality and comply with the requirements
found in §290.46(x) and (y) of this title. Alternative capacity
requirements are unavailable for groundwater systems serving fewer
than 50 connections without total storage as specified in subsection
(b)(1) of this section or for noncommunity water systems as specified
in subsections (c) and (d) of this section.
(1) Alternative capacity requirements for public water
systems may be granted upon request to and approval by the executive
director. The request to use an alternative capacity requirement must
include:
(A) a detailed inventory of the major production, pressurization,
and storage facilities utilized by the system;
(B) records kept by the water system that document
the daily production of the system. The period reviewed shall not
be less than three years. The applicant may not use a calculated peak
daily demand;
(C) data acquired during the last drought period in
the region, if required by the executive director;
(D) the actual number of active connections for each
month during the three years of production data;
(E) description of any unusual demands on the system
such as fire flows or major main breaks that will invalidate unusual
peak demands experienced in the study period;
(F) any other relevant data needed to determine that
the proposed alternative capacity requirement will provide at least
35 psi in the public water system except during line repair or during
firefighting when it cannot be less than 20 psi; and
(G) a copy of all data relied upon for making the proposed
determination.
(2) Alternative capacity requirements for existing
public water systems must be based upon the maximum daily demand for
the system, unless the request is submitted by a licensed professional
engineer in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (3) of this
subsection. The maximum daily demand must be determined based upon
the daily usage data contained in monthly operating reports for the
system during a 36 consecutive month period. The 36 consecutive month
period must end within 90 days of the date of submission to ensure
the data is as current as possible.
(A) Maximum daily demand is the greatest number of
gallons, including groundwater, surface water, and purchased water
delivered by the system during any single day during the review period.
Maximum daily demand excludes unusual demands on the system such as
fire flows or major main breaks.
(B) For the purpose of calculating alternative capacity
requirements, an equivalency ratio must be established. This equivalency
ratio must be calculated by multiplying the maximum daily demand,
expressed in gpm per connection, by a fixed safety factor and dividing
the result by 0.6 gpm per connection. The safety factor shall be 1.15
unless it is documented that the existing system capacity is adequate
for the next five years. In this case, the safety factor may be reduced
to 1.05. The conditions in §291.93(3) of this title (relating
to Adequacy of Water Utility Service) concerning the 85% rule shall
continue to apply to public water systems that are also retail public
utilities.
(C) To calculate the alternative capacity requirements,
the equivalency ratio must be multiplied by the appropriate minimum
capacity requirements specified in subsection (b) of this section.
Standard rounding methods are used to round calculated alternative
production capacity requirement values to the nearest one-hundredth.
(3) Alternative capacity requirements which are proposed
and submitted by licensed professional engineers for review are subject
to the following additional requirements.
(A) A signed and sealed statement by the licensed professional
engineer must be provided which certifies that the proposed alternative
capacity requirements have been determined in accordance with the
requirements of this subsection.
(B) If the system is new or at least 36 consecutive
months of data is not available, maximum daily demand may be based
upon at least 36 consecutive months of data from a comparable public
water system. A licensed professional engineer must certify that the
data from another public water system is comparable based on consideration
of the following factors: prevailing land use patterns (rural versus
urban); number of connections; density of service populations; fire
flow obligations; and socio-economic, climatic, geographic, and topographic
considerations as well as other factors as may be relevant. The comparable
public water system shall not exhibit any of the conditions listed
in paragraph (6)(A) of this subsection.
Cont'd... |
