(a) Applicability. A public water system that treats surface water or groundwater under the direct influence of surface water must comply with the requirements of this section.
  (1) A public water system that treats surface water must comply with the requirements of this section beginning on the effective date of the rule.
  (2) A public water system that treats groundwater under the direct influence of surface water must comply with the requirements of this section beginning on a date specified by the executive director. This compliance date shall not exceed 18 months from the date that the executive director first notifies the system that the groundwater source is under the direct influence of surface water.
  (3) A public water system that treats both surface water and groundwater under the direct influence of surface water must meet the compliance date in paragraph (1) of this subsection at plants that treat any surface water and must meet the compliance date in paragraph (2) of this subsection at plants that treat only groundwater under the direct influence of surface water.
(b) Raw surface water monitoring. A public water system that treats surface water or groundwater under the direct influence of surface water must conduct at least two rounds of special raw surface water monitoring at each surface water intake and at each well producing groundwater under the direct influence of surface water for the purpose of establishing minimum treatment technique requirements for Cryptosporidium and other pathogens. The executive director may waive the raw surface water monitoring requirements for an intake or a well if the combination of pathogen removal and disinfection processes used to treat the raw water achieves at least a 5.5-log total removal and inactivation of Cryptosporidium parvum.
  (1) Raw water monitoring plans. A system must submit a proposed raw surface water monitoring plan when requested by the executive director. The proposed plan must identify all of the system's intakes and wells; provide the location of each raw water sampling point; include the parameters that will be monitored and the frequency and dates that samples will be collected; and specify the laboratories that will perform the analyses. Raw surface water monitoring must be conducted in accordance with a monitoring plan that has been approved by the executive director. The executive director shall not approve a raw surface water monitoring plan unless it indicates that the system will meet the requirements of 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §§141.701 - 141.707.
  (2) Sampling location. A system must collect each raw water sample at a location approved by the executive director. Samples must be collected from the raw water line prior to any treatment and before the first point where a recycled stream is returned to the treatment process.
  (3) Sampling parameters and frequency. A system must collect raw water samples at a frequency approved by the executive director.
    (A) Unless the executive director approves an alternate sampling regimen, a system must monitor turbidity, Escherichia coli (E. coli), and Cryptosporidium levels in the raw water at least once each month for a period of not less than 24 consecutive months if the system:
      (i) serves at least 10,000 people; or
      (ii) is part of combined distribution system in which one or more systems serve at least 10,000 people and the system with the well or intake regularly provides water to another public water supply.
    (B) A system that is not required to monitor under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph must either monitor in accordance with the requirements of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph or monitor E. coli levels in their raw water at least once every two weeks for a period of not less than 12 consecutive months. A system that does not initially monitor for Cryptosporidium and has elevated E. coli levels must conduct additional raw water monitoring.
      (i) A system must conduct additional monitoring if the average E. coli level exceeds 100 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters in the raw water produced by a surface water intake located on a river or flowing stream or the raw water from a well producing groundwater under the direct influence of surface water located closest to a river or flowing stream.
      (ii) A system must conduct additional monitoring if the average E. coli level exceeds 100 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters in the raw water from a surface water intake not located on a river or flowing stream or the raw water produced by a well producing groundwater under the direct influence of surface water not located on a river or flowing stream.
      (iii) A system that must conduct additional monitoring must monitor Cryptosporidium levels in the raw water at least twice each month for a period of not less than 12 consecutive months, or at least once each month for a period of not less than 24 consecutive months.
    (C) The executive director may approve an alternate sampling frequency for intakes and wells that operate only part of the year.
  (4) Sampling schedule and dates. A system must collect raw water samples in accordance with a schedule approved by the executive director.
    (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, a system must begin each round of raw source water monitoring no later than the date shown in the following table titled "Raw Source Water Monitoring Schedule."
Attached Graphic
    (B) If a system installs a new well or intake after the date the first round of raw source water monitoring must begin, the system must:
      (i) submit a proposed monitoring schedule for the first round of special raw surface water monitoring no later than three months after first placing the new source in operation; and
      (ii) begin the second round of special raw surface water monitoring no later than six years after initial bin classification.
    (C) A system must collect a raw water sample no sooner than two days before the date approved by the executive director and no later than two days after the approved date, unless an extreme condition or situation exists that poses a danger to the sample collector.
    (D) A system which is unable to collect a sample within this five-day period must collect the sample as close as possible to the approved date and must notify the executive director in writing why the sample was not collected on the approved date.
  (5) Replacement samples. If, for any reason, the laboratory is unable to report a valid analytical result for a scheduled sample, the system must submit a replacement sample on a date approved by the executive director.
  (6) Analytical requirements. Raw water samples collected pursuant to this subsection must be analyzed at an United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved or a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality accredited laboratory.
    (A) Cryptosporidium samples must be analyzed using one of the methods approved in 40 CFR §141.704(a) and by a laboratory that is approved under EPA's Laboratory Quality Assurance Evaluation Program for Analysis of Cryptosporidium in Water.
    (B) E. coli samples must be analyzed using one of the methods approved in 40 CFR §136.3(a) for the enumeration of E. coli in source water and by a laboratory that is accredited by the executive director.
      (i) Systems must ensure that samples are maintained between 0 degrees Celsius and 10 degrees Celsius during storage and transportation to the laboratory.
      (ii) The time between sample collection and the initiation of the analysis may not exceed 30 hours without the prior approval of the executive director.
      (iii) The executive director may allow up to 48 hours between sample collection and the initiation of the analysis if the analysis is conducted by the Colilert reagent version of Standard Method 9223B.
    (C) Turbidity samples must be analyzed using a method and at a laboratory approved by the executive director.
  (7) Reporting requirements for raw surface water sample results. The owner or operator of a public water system must provide to the executive director with a copy of the results of any test, measurement, or analysis required by this subsection.
    (A) Results must be submitted using the Raw Surface Water Sampling Report (commission Form 20358) or in another format that is approved by the executive director and contains the information required by 40 CFR §141.706(e).
      (i) If the sample was not collected within the five-day window described in paragraph (4)(C) of this subsection, the result must be accompanied by the information required in paragraph (4)(D) of this subsection.
Cont'd...