What are the implications when a water system changes the status or availability?
Public water systems’ waterworks facilities have both a ‘status’ and ‘availability’ that is tracked by the state. Facility status is either ‘active’ or ‘inactive.’ Facility availability is typically either ‘permanent’, ‘seasonal’, ‘interim’, ‘emergency.’ Changing any of these items has significant regulatory implications and must be understood in order to avoid unintended consequences.
Waterworks status
Any waterworks with an ‘inactive’ status MUST be physically disconnected from the public water system. The status of ‘inactive’ means the waterworks are not in use and are physically disconnected. If you intend to change the status from ‘inactive’ to ‘active,’ you must ensure that each waterworks element has received design approval prior to (re)connecting the waterworks. Typically, getting design approval will mean documenting construction of the waterworks, additional water quality sampling, and may even require treatment modifications. Design submittals for community water systems require the stamp of a professional engineer licensed in Colorado. Visit the Water Quality Control Division's (division) design approval website for more information.
Waterworks availability
Any waterworks with an availability status of ‘emergency’ is considered a special case and can be connected and ‘active’, but as emergency infrastructure, the waterworks has not been reviewed for compliance with all chronic contaminants and may not have robust treatment in place for continuous use. Therefore, modifying a waterworks availability from ‘emergency’ to ‘seasonal’, ‘interim’, or ‘permanent’ means you must ensure that each waterworks element has received design approval prior to changing the availability. As stated above, obtaining design approval will typically mean additional water quality sampling and may even mean treatment modifications.
Since the Department of Public Health and Environment (department) has seen an increase in the activation of ‘inactive’ waterworks or the changing of availability of ‘emergency’ infrastructure to ‘seasonal’ or ‘permanent’ waterworks, the department developed a few key examples using commonly asked questions to help refresh public water systems on the department’s requirements.
1. What does a public water system need to do before beginning to use a waterworks facility, currently having a status of ‘inactive?’
The division does not consider inactive waterworks to meet the prior approval requirements of Section 11.4 of Regulation 11 Colorado Primary Drinking Water Regulations (Regulation 11). Even waterworks that may have received department approval in the past, once converted to inactive, are presumed disconnected from the water system and are no longer approved. The department uses this interpretation because conditions and criteria change over time; inactive waterworks are not reviewed during sanitary surveys; and systems may not adequately maintain or upgrade this infrastructure to reliably protect public health over time.
As an example, consider a well that has been inactive and disconnected for several years. Over time, the regulations may have evolved (e.g., regulations for continuous chlorination with 4-log virus capability, newly regulated compounds like PFAS, etc). Also, design standards may have changed including the burden of proof to confirm a well is not under the direct influence of surface water.
If connected and brought back online, the source may introduce contaminants that exceed maximum contaminant levels, introduce pathogens, or cause lead and copper corrosion violations. The department finds that the design review process mitigates these concerns.
For a public water system to change a waterworks element from emergency status to seasonal or permanent use, the public water system must first submit and receive approval of the waterworks element to the Department in accordance with Section 11.4 of Regulation 11.
2. If I want to inactivate a waterworks element, what types of disconnection/valving off are required?
The department requires inactive waterworks to be isolated from the system. If a waterworks element is disconnected (blind flanged) and not under construction, the department expects the facility status to be inactive. During a sanitary survey, the inspector may identify concerns with a waterworks element isolated from the system by a valve and require that this element be physically disconnected from the system (blind flanged) due to concerns related to sanitary defects from leaky valves, etc. Valves are not an acceptable means of isolation for inactivation of a facility as valves can leak or accidentally be opened by untrained staff. If an inactive facility is valved off as the means of isolation, it may be identified as a significant deficiency and/or cross connection during the sanitary survey. This is because inactive facilities are not usually maintained to the same sanitary standards as active facilities and can be a potential source of contamination to the finished water.
3. What does a public water system need to do before beginning to use an existing waterworks element whose availability is currently identified as ‘emergency?’
The division does not consider emergency waterworks to meet the requirements of Section 11.4 of Regulation 11 Colorado Primary Drinking Water Regulations (Regulation 11). Even waterworks that may have received department approval in the past, once converted to emergency, are not considered approved. The department uses this interpretation because conditions and criteria change over time; emergency waterworks are reviewed during sanitary surveys but only for immediate health risks. The department has found that ‘emergency’ wells and tanks may not be adequately maintained for continuous use.
As an example, consider a well source that has only been connected to the distribution system and has an availability of ‘emergency.’ Over time the source water qualities may change and create public health issues. In addition, the system’s water quality may equilibrate without the constant input from this emergency source. If brought back online, the source may introduce constituents that exceed maximum contaminant levels (e.g., radionuclides, PFAS) or cause lead and copper corrosion violations. The department finds that the design review process mitigates these concerns by confirming the compatibility of water quality prior to use.
For a public water system to change a waterworks element’s availability from emergency to seasonal or permanent, the public water system must notify compliance assurance and submit and receive approval of the waterworks element to the department in accordance with Section 11.4 of Regulation 11. Once approved, the system may request a change for this waterworks’ availability by updating their monitoring plan and submitting it to the drinking water portal.
Because this article does not cover all potential variations, please reach out to the department if you have any questions regarding converting a water facility’s ‘status’ or ‘availability.’ The department encourages suppliers to reach out before making changes to make sure no unintended consequences occur. You can find contact information for our engineering section in this publicly available document.
➽ Bret Icenogle Engineering Section Manager
➽ Tyson Ingels Lead Drinking Water Engineer
