Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 290 - PUBLIC DRINKING WATER › Subchapter D - RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS › Section 290.45 - Minimum Water System Capacity Requirements

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) General provisions.
(1) The
											  requirements contained in this section are to be used in evaluating both the total capacities for public
											  water systems and the capacities at individual pump stations and pressure planes which serve portions of the
											  system that are hydraulically separated from, or incapable of being served by, other pump stations or
											  pressure planes. The capacities specified in this section are minimum requirements only and do not include
											  emergency fire flow capacities for systems required to meet requirements contained in §
											290.46(x) and
											  (y) of this title (relating to Minimum Acceptable Operating Practices for
											  Public Drinking Water Systems).
(2) The executive director will
											  require additional supply, storage, service pumping, and pressure maintenance facilities if a normal
											  operating pressure of 35 pounds per square inch (psi) cannot be maintained throughout the system, or if the
											  system's maximum daily demand exceeds its total production and treatment capacity. The executive director
											  will also require additional capacities for a system that is unable to maintain a minimum pressure of 20 psi
											  during firefighting, line flushing, other unusual conditions, and systems that are required to provide fire
											  flow as specified in §
											290.46(x) and (y) of this title.
(3) The executive director may establish additional capacity requirements
											  for a public water system using the method of calculation described in subsection (g)(2) of this section if
											  there are repeated customer complaints regarding inadequate pressure or if the executive director receives a
											  request for a capacity evaluation from customers of the system.
(4) Throughout this section, total storage capacity does not include
											  pressure tank capacity.
(5) The executive director may exclude
											  the capacity of facilities that have been inoperative for the past 120 days and will not be returned to an
											  operative condition within the next 30 days when determining compliance with the requirements of this
											  section.
(6) The capacity of the treatment facilities shall not
											  be less than the required raw water or groundwater production rate or the anticipated maximum daily demand of
											  the system. The production capacity of a reverse osmosis or nanofiltration membrane system shall be the
											  quantity of permeate water after post-treatment that can be delivered to the distribution system. The amount
											  available for customer use must consider:
(A) the quantity of feed water
											  discharged to waste;
(B) the quantity of bypass water used for
											  blending;
(C) the quantity of permeate water used for cleaning
											  and maintenance; and
(D) any other loss of raw water or
											  groundwater available for use due to other processes at the reverse osmosis or nanofiltration
											  facility.
(7) If a public water system that is an
											  affected utility fails to provide a minimum of 20 psi or a pressure approved by the executive director, or 35
											  psi, as required by TWC §13.1394 and §13.1395 respectively, throughout the distribution system
											  during emergency operations as soon as it is safe and practicable following the occurrence of a natural
											  disaster, a revised emergency preparedness plan or justification regarding pressure drop shall be submitted
											  for review and approval within 180 days of the date normal power is restored. Based on the review of the
											  revised emergency preparedness plan, the executive director may require additional or alternative auxiliary
											  emergency facilities.
(8) A public water system that is an
											  affected utility is required to review its emergency preparedness plan once every three years. An affected
											  utility shall submit a new or revised emergency preparedness plan to the executive director for approval
											  within 90 days after any of the following conditions occur:
(A) An affected
											  utility chooses to implement a different option or options other than those in the most recent approved
											  emergency preparedness plan;
(B) A previously non-affected
											  utility meets the definition of an affected utility;
(C) An
											  affected utility makes a significant change as described in §
												290.39(j) of this title that affects emergency
											  operations; or
(D) An affected utility makes changes to utility
											  contact or emergency communications information. For these changes, the affected utility must submit only the
											  updated applicable pages of the emergency preparedness plan to the executive director.