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 .
Please submit electronically via email to: PTRS@tceq.texas.gov
Submitters will receive a confirmation email that the submittal was received. For files larger than 25 MB, the email will not come through, a confirmation email will not be sent, and the submittal must be submitted via TCEQ Send, a secure and simple to use website that enables the transfer of large and/or sensitive files. For more information visit Introduction to TCEQ Send.
Note: TCEQ Send has replaced the FTPS (file transfer protocol) site previously used for submissions larger than 25 MB
All submittals must contain the following as applicable:
- A cover letter clearly indicating the intent of the submittal and components which review is being requested.
- Submittal Form (TCEQ-10233)
- Engineering Report
- Sealed Engineering Plans and Specifications
Proposed New Water Systems must submit additional information:
- A completed and signed Core Data Form (TCEQ-10400)
- A completed and notarized Financial Ability Form (TCEQ-20841)
- Financial Documentation (See New System Checklist)
- Business Plan (Community systems only)
- Requests for Service (See New System Checklist)
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.
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
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 that 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 two 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, email PTRS@tceq.texas.gov or call 512-239-4691.