Submit Public Water System Plans for Review
This page contains information about submitting your plans to TCEQ to be reviewed before construction begins.
No person may begin construction of a public drinking water supply system until the TCEQ determines that the system is financially stable and technically sound, and can supply adequate quantities of safe drinking water. Public Water Systems must notify the TCEQ about any proposed new system or significant changes to existing systems.
The Plan Review Team under the Plan and Technical Review Section of the TCEQ Water Supply Division conducts the reviews. The reviews are based on the requirements in the Rules and Regulations for Public Water Systems in the Texas Administrative Code, Title 30, Chapter 290, Subchapter D.
- How to Submit Your Plans and Specifications
- Status of Reviews in Progress
- Radionuclide Testing Required for Well Completion
How to Submit Your Plans and Specifications
Plans, specifications, and related documents must be prepared under the direction of a licensed professional engineer. All engineering documents must have engineering seals, signatures, and dates affixed in accordance with the rules of the Texas Board of Professional Engineers .
An electronic submittal is preferred, and a follow-up hard copy is not required. Please submit all information electronically via email to
Submitters will receive a confirmation email Plan Review Team has received the submittal.
All documents must be in Acrobat PDF file format. Please submit flattened PDF documents with all comments/markups deleted and no password protection. Please submit one PDF per document (cover letter, plans, specifications, engineering report). If the PDF is large, please break it into a couple of smaller documents.
Get the Forms and Checklists for Submitting Plans or Specifications for Public Water Systems needed to prepare a submittal package.
Please submit the following items:
- Cover letter
- TCEQ Submittal Form 10233
- Engineering report (if necessary)
- Sealed engineering plans and specifications
- Well completion data (this is for well use completions only)
For proposed new systems also submit the following:
- NEW Submittal for a New Proposed Public Water System Checklist
- Core data form (TCEQ-10400)- Please use the most recent version and include latitude and longitude coordinates in Item 27
- Financial Ability Form (TCEQ-20841)
- Financial Statements (see checklist)
- Business plan (community systems only)
- Request for service (1/2 mile and 2 miles for community systems)
For proposed new systems, submit the following in addition to the documents listed above:
If files are larger than 25 MB, use the secure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site. Before using an FTP site, please first submit the cover letter and Submittal Form 10233 to the PTRS@tceq.texas.gov email box. In the email, please indicate the files are large and will be transmitted to an FTP site and the name of the intended FTP site where the files will be loaded.
Please note TCEQ’s firewall prevents files from being accessed from Dropbox links. TCEQ maintains a secure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site for transfer of files too large to be emailed to TCEQ (files larger than 25 MB). For information regarding the FTP site, please see the following website: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/help/helpcmpr.html. Files uploaded to the FTP site should be shared with PTRS@tceq.texas.gov.
In the cover letter, clearly indicate the best email address to contact with any questions about the submittal.
If it is not possible to submit electronically, then please mail the completed package to:
Plan and Technical Review Section
Water Supply Division MC -159
TCEQ
P.O. Box 13087
Austin, Texas 78711-3087
With a mailed hard copy, you may submit files on a flashdrive, please provide documents in Acrobat PDF (flattened with all comments/markups deleted and no password protection), with one folder for plans and another folder for specifications. If submitting plans on paper, 11 x 17 is the smallest format that allows for sufficient detail. All new proposed systems require two copies of all documents if submitting hard copies. In lieu of submitting two copies by mail/delivery courier please provide one hard copy of all material and a flash drive with all the submitted documents including the cover/transmittal letter.
Back to topHow to Submit Confidential and/or Proprietary Information
Most third parties submitting documents bearing a professional seal do so with the assumption the document could be made public. However, if you wish to protect sealed plans and documents, it is required to include a conspicuous notice the specific document contains confidential and/or proprietary information.
- Documents bearing a professional seal but are otherwise silent to the presence of confidential or proprietary information are not considered protected by common law copyright and may be released to the public (assuming the document is not otherwise protected for a completely unrelated reason).
- Documents bearing a professional seal and include a conspicuous notice the document contains confidential and/or proprietary information should be withheld and, if requested through a public information request (PIR), the third party submitting the document should be given an opportunity to submit confidentiality arguments to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).
- Documents containing the actual federal copyright symbol (©) will be treated as copyrighted documents which a requestor may inspect in person but cannot be released in response to a PIR.
Status of Reviews in Progress
For confirmation a project was received and is under review, visit the Water Districts Database and select the "Reports" menu. Then select "PTR Plan Review Report" from the drop-down menu and choose "Select Report." When you see the question, "Are you ready to process the report?" select "Yes." It may take several minutes for the report to download. Download Illustrated Instructions for accessing the report.
The report shows all plans submitted and currently under review by the Plan Review Team. If you have questions or special circumstances, you may contact PTRS@TCEQ.Texas.gov. If the submittal no longer appears on the "PTR Plan Review Report," then the review may be complete. In this case, you should receive a letter in the mail within one or 2 business days.
Radionuclide Testing Required for Well Completion
Several areas of Texas have groundwater with elevated radionuclide levels. Determine if your county is one where radionuclide testing is required in order to receive interim approval for drilling a well.
For guidance on conducting this testing properly, see Radionuclide Testing for Interim Approval of Well Completion.
Contact Us
For more information, e-mail PTRS@tceq.texas.gov or call 512-239-4691.