Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Rules on Water Conservation Plans for Municipal Uses by Public Water Suppliers
TITLE 30 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
PART 1 TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
CHAPTER 288 WATER CONSERVATION PLANS, DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLANS, GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS
SUBCHAPTER A WATER CONSERVATION PLANS
RULE § 288.2 Water Conservation Plans for Municipal Uses by Public Water Suppliers
(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.
(Ord. OR-2361-24, passed 4-22-24)
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