Transient Noncommunity Water Systems: Compliance Resources

A transient noncommunity (TNC) public water system (PWS) meets all of these criteria:

• Provides water for human consumption.
• Has at least 15 service connections or serves 25 people or more at least 60 days out of the year.
• Does not meet the definition of a community or nontransient noncommunity water system.

Human consumption includes, but is not limited to, drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, bathing, washing hands, washing dishes, and preparing foods.

Parks, recreational vehicle (RV) parks, convenience stores, restaurants, and other businesses are often TNC public water systems.

You must have a Texas-licensed professional engineer (P.E.) prepare and submit plans and specifications for your system. This includes information about your water source, distribution system, and any equipment that is part of your system

Find more information in the following pages and resources:

• NEW PWS Activation and Inactivation (RG-550) – how to update an approved system's status to active or inactive.
• Establishing a New Public Water System – requirements new water systems must meet before construction may begin.
• Submit PWS Plans for Review – how to submit PWS plans to TCEQ for review.
• Forms and Checklists for PWS Plans – documents with guidelines for wells, pressure tanks, and distribution systems to assist you and your engineer.
• Requesting an Exception to Rules and Regulations for PWS – information on requesting exceptions if you cannot obtain all the necessary information.
• Evaluating Regionalization (RG-551) – guidance on requesting service and connecting to a neighboring system or combining existing systems into one regional water system.
• Requirements for Water Haulers – if you distribute drinking water for human consumption by tank truck or trailer and serve 25 people or more at least 60 days out of the year, you must obtain approval for your system and meet the requirements of 30 TAC § 290.44(i).

All public water systems are subject to complaint and routine compliance investigations by the TCEQ. The information and equipment reviewed will depend on the type of investigation or nature of the complaint. In general, you will need to show you are meeting all operational, sampling, monitoring, and record-keeping requirements.

A TCEQ investigator will contact you to schedule any routine, non-complaint investigation and send you a list of items they plan to review.

• TNC Compliance Notebook – the compliance notebook is a record keeping tool to help you gather and organize documentation required to be available during an inspection.
• Required Records – this list includes all records required to be available during a PWS investigation. Not all records will be required for your system.
• Compliance Checklists for PWS Investigations – copies of the checklists TCEQ investigators use for common investigations at public water systems.

As a public water system, you must keep records, provide disinfection for your water, keep the system maintained and in working order, and meet other requirements.

Operations Guidance

• You’re a Public Water System…Now What? (RG-496) – In Revision 2023 - a guide for rules and regulations that apply to public water systems, especially those who recently learned they own a PWS.
• Managing Small Public Water Systems (RG-501) – a five-part series helping owners, managers, or operators of small water systems understand and comply with rules and develop tools for planning and operation.
• Special Precautions Flowchart: Responding to a Loss of Pressure in Your Distribution System
• After the Flood: Is Your Water Safe to Drink?
• Using Bleach for Disinfecting Drinking Water and Water Wells – guidance for determining which bleaches may be used for disinfecting drinking water.
• Water Conservation – tips for consumers, businesses, and governments to encourage conservation and plan ahead for water shortages.
• Drought Emergency Planning – drought and emergency management resources, including a video presentation of a drought emergency planning workshop.
• What to Do in a Water Crisis – what your PWS must do and how to contact TCEQ when immediate action is needed, as with a loss of supply, loss of pressure, or contamination.

Operations Templates and Forms

Use the following templates and forms to meet certain requirements:

• Operations and Maintenance Manual Template – use this template to develop your operations and maintenance manual.
• Complaint Log – record water system customer complaints and the results of any investigation from those complaints.
• Dead-End Main Flushing Log – record dates, times, and volumes of flushing events.
• Disinfectant Residual Analyzer Verification Log – record dates and results of calibration checks for residual analyzers.
• Disinfectant Residual, Water Use, and Chemical Use Log – record disinfectant residual readings, water distributed, and chemicals used.
• Facility Cleaning Log – record dates when water system facilities were cleaned.
• Tampering with a PWS Warning Sign Template – you can provide this template to a sign company to have signs made for your system.
• TNC System Information Log – record important system information such as PWS contacts, water operators, population, and connection count.
• Water Tank Inspection Log – record dates and tank conditions during tank inspections.

Operations for Seasonal Public Water Systems

Seasonal public water systems have modified operations, sampling, and reporting requirements and must complete specific start-up procedures before the operating season begins. A seasonal PWS meets all of the following criteria:

• Fits the definition of a noncommunity water system.
• Is not operated as a PWS year-round.
• Starts up and shuts down at the beginning and end of each operating season.

Read our Start-up Procedures for Seasonal Public Water Systems guidance for more information.

Harris and Fort Bend Counties

Texas Water Code 13.1395 requires affected utilities located inside Harris and Fort Bend Counties to maintain a water pressure of 35 psi (pounds per square inch) throughout the distribution system when the power has been off for more than 24 hours during an emergency. Water systems meeting the definition of affected utilities are required to develop and implement an Emergency Preparedness Plan or “EPP.”

For more information on why an EPP is required and who is affected, visit the Emergency Preparedness Plan Homepage.

• Emergency Preparedness Plan Template Form 20536A   (For Harris and Fort Bend Counties Only)
• If you need assistance with the EPP template, please fill out the EPP Help Form and TCEQ will contact you via email or phone to work with you.

All Counties except Harris and Fort Bend Counties

Texas Water Code 13.1394 requires affected utilities outside Harris and Fort Bend Counties to provide water service with a minimum of 20 psi during an extended power outage lasting 24 hours or more. Water systems meeting the definition of affected utilities are required to develop and implement an Emergency Preparedness Plan or “EPP.”

For more information on why an EPP is required and who is affected, visit the Emergency Preparedness Plan Homepage.

• Emergency Preparedness Plan Template Form 20536B   (For all Counties except Harris and Fort Bend Counties)
• If you need assistance with the EPP template, please fill out the EPP Help Form and TCEQ will contact you via email or phone to work with you.

Yes, if you have chloramines you must develop and maintain a nitrification action plan (NAP). Nitrification can occur in water systems that contain chloramines.

• Controlling Nitrification in Public Water Systems with Chloramines – how to detect, prevent, and stop nitrification in a water distribution system.
• NAP Guidance – a one-page document that provides basic information about developing a NAP, including controls, goals, baselines, triggers, and an example template.
• NAP Summary – more in-depth look at the information in the NAP Guidance.
• NAP Template – provides explanation, examples, and a template to help your system develop a NAP.

Yes, you must develop monitoring and sample siting plans to show how you intend to comply with monitoring requirements.

• Surface water and GUI systems must submit a copy of the monitoring plan for review and approval after initial development and any revisions.
• All water systems must submit a copy of the sample siting plan for review and approval after initial development and any revisions. You can mail a copy to TCEQ’s Drinking Water Quality Team or email it to TCRDATA@tceq.texas.gov.

We developed templates and examples to help you develop your system’s monitoring and sample siting plans:

• Monitoring Plan Template
• Sample Siting Plan Template
• Sample Siting Plan Map: Example – use this template to develop and maintain routine and repeat coliform sample locations in the distribution system. Mail a copy of the sample siting plan to TCEQ or email to TCRDATA@tceq.texas.gov.

Yes, you must regularly conduct sampling for microbial contaminants.

• Coliform Monitoring, Analyzing, and Reporting (RG-421) – an extensive guide to monitoring coliforms for PWSs.
• Example SOP for Bacteriological Sample Collection – use this standard operating procedure (SOP) guide to ensure that bacterial samples are taken correctly.
• RTCR Repeat Sampling Requirements Diagram – use this flowchart to determine your repeat sampling requirements when notified of a positive routine bacteriological sample.
• Level 1 Assessment Form – use this form if any of the following apply to you:
  • Collect 40 or more distribution samples per month and more than 5.0% of samples collected in a month are total coliform-positive.
  • Collect fewer than 40 distribution samples per month and 2 or more samples collected in a month are total coliform-positive.
  • Failed to collect all required repeat samples after a total coliform-positive result.
• Level 2 Assessment Form – use this form if any of the following apply to you:
  • Had an E. coli-positive repeat sample after a total coliform-positive routine sample.
  • Had a total coliform-positive repeat sample following an E. coli-positive routine sample.
  • Failed to collect all required repeat samples following an E. coli-positive routine sample.
  • Failed to test for E. coli when any repeat sample tests positive for total coliform.
  • Trigger a second Level 1 assessment within a rolling 12-month period.

Yes, but you do not take these samples yourself. TCEQ contractors will conduct most chemical contaminant samples of concern to NTNC systems. The contractors should call before the end of your monitoring period to set up a time to take the required samples.

Monitoring frequency and requirements are based on a number of factors, including PWS classification, population served, water source, and the level of chemicals in your water based on previous sampling.

• PWS Chemical Sampling and Monitoring Frequency – information about chemical sampling requirements and monitoring schedules for PWS.
• Understanding Chemical Analysis Results – how to read and interpret the lab results of chemical sample analyses.

Public water systems must submit the Lab Approval Form (TCEQ-10450) to be approved to analyze the following analytes themselves:

• turbidity
• pH
• temperature
• total organic carbon (TOC)
• UV
• alkalinity
• disinfectant
• chlorite (at point of entry)
• calcium
• phosphate

Yes, you must monitor the disinfectant residual in their distribution system.

If you serve surface water, groundwater under the influence of surface water, or at least 750 customers, you must monitor your disinfectant residual daily.

• Daily Disinfectant Residual Worksheet for MRDL Calculation

If you serve groundwater or purchased water and less than 750 customers, you must monitor your disinfectant residual weekly.

• Weekly Disinfectant Residual Worksheet for MRDL Calculation

Your disinfectant reporting requirements depend on your water source.

• Disinfectant Residual Reporting for PWS (RG-407) – information about maximum and minimum disinfectant levels, reporting requirements, and the “when, where, how, and who” of disinfectant sampling.
• Disinfectant Level Quarterly Operating Report (DLQOR) Form – TNC systems serving groundwater or purchased water must complete this operating report each quarter and keep a copy for your records.
• Surface Water Monthly Operating Report (SWMOR) Form – surface water or GUI systems must complete an SWMOR and submit it to TCEQ each month.
  • Filter Reports for Individual Filers – describes what type of filter report must be submitted when a filter begins performing below required operational standards.
  • Recycling Practices Report – the “when, where, how, and who” of water treatment plant recycling practices reports.

You must notify your customers of certain conditions that could affect their drinking water.

• Public Notice Language for Drinking Water Compliance – templates of language that PWS must use to notify customers of violations of microbial, primary chemical, or surface water treatment standards for drinking water and monitoring, reporting, and treatment technique violations.
• Notifying Customers of Blending Chlorine and Chloramine Disinfectants – instructions and language that PWS must use to notify customers if the system blends free chlorine and chloramine disinfectants.

Rules and regulations for public water systems are in Title 30 of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 290 , Subchapters D-H.

If you are an establishment that prepares and serves food, you may also be regulated by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

If you are an investor-owned utility, water supply corporation, or if you bill customers for submetered or allocated water and sewer utility services, you may also be regulated by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

• PUC Water Industry Resources
• PUC Rules and Guidance for Water and Sewer Utilities

Drinking Water Watch

Drinking Water Watch (DWW) – search the database for your water system to find analytical results, schedules, violations, and more. To ensure that communication and compliance information is addressed to the appropriate personnel at your public water system, owners and operators should notify TCEQ of any changes to contact information by emailing PWSInven@tceq.texas.gov.

• Instructions for Texas Drinking Water Watch

Free Workshops and Onsite Assistance

Free Assistance for Public Water and Wastewater Systems – TCEQ’s Financial, Managerial, and Technical (FMT) Assistance Program can help you comply with regulations, prevent and address problems, perform consolidation and capacity assessments, provide technical training, and more.

TNC Reporting and Record-keeping Workshop – A free workshop for owners and operators of small transient noncommunity public water systems to explain reporting and record-keeping requirements and prepare you for compliance investigations.

• Transient Noncommunity Water System Notebook Webinar - Recording of the full webinar.

Small Business and Local Government Assistance

TCEQ's Small Business and Local Government Assistance section offers free, confidential help to small businesses and local governments working to follow state environmental regulations. Call us at (800) 447-2827 or visit our Web page at TexasEnviroHelp.org.