(a) Applicability. The owner, agent or other person in control of a building which has one or more water tanks used to store potable water which is distributed as part of the building's drinking water supply system shall comply with the provisions of this section. This section does not apply to the domestic hot water system.
(b) Inspection Requirements. The owner, agent or other person in control of a building shall have the water tank inspected at least once annually. The inspection shall include the examination of the general condition and integrity of the tank, including but not limited to the condition of overflow pipes, access ladders, air vents, roof access hatches and screens. The water tank shall be inspected for evidence of pitting, scaling, blistering or chalking, rusting, corrosion and leakage. Inspection of sanitary conditions, including the presence of sediment, biological growth, floatable debris and insects in the tank and rodent or bird activity on and around the tank, shall be performed. The inspection shall include sampling of the water in the water tank to verify the bacteriological quality of the water supply in compliance with Subpart 5-1 of the State Sanitary Code. Sample results shall be reported by a State certified laboratory equipped to analyze drinking water, in accordance with the latest edition of the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, published jointly by the APHA, the AWWA and the WEF.
(c) Reporting and record keeping. The annual inspection report required by subdivision (b) of this section shall be maintained by the owner, agent or other person in control of a building for at least 5 (five) years from the date of the inspection and such reports shall be made available to the Department upon request within 5 (five) business days. Effective January 1, 2015, documentation of such annual inspection is required to be submitted to the Department in a form and manner prescribed by the Department. The inspection report shall state whether or not all applicable requirements were met at the time of inspection and provide a description of any non-compliance with those requirements.
(d) Public Notice. The owner, agent or other person in control of a building shall post in an easily accessible location to residents in each building served by a potable water tank a notice that inspection results are available upon request. The notice must be placed in a frame with a transparent cover. The public notice shall include the name, address, and phone number where inspection results can be requested. Upon receipt of a request, the owner or manager shall make a copy of the inspection results available within 5 (five) business days.
(e) Corrective Actions. When an inspection identifies any unsanitary condition, the owner, agent or other person in control of a building shall take the necessary steps to immediately correct the condition. If water sampling analysis of the water tank finds noncompliance with the bacteriological quality standards as outlined in Subpart 5-1 of the State Sanitary Code, this condition shall be reported to the Department within 24 hours. If it is found that the quality of such water is attributed to the sanitary condition of the water tank, the owner, agent or other person in control of a building shall clean the tank in accordance with 24 RCNY Health Code § 141.09. A water tank shall be cleaned whenever directed by the Department to correct an unsanitary condition.
(f) Enforcement. If an inspection report required by subdivision (b) of this section is not submitted to the Department when requested, or documentation of such report is not submitted annually in accordance with rules issued by the Department pursuant to this section, such failure to submit shall be considered prima facie evidence that no inspection was conducted for the time period in question. A separate violation shall be issued for each year for which a required inspection report was not submitted.