Section 290.43 - Water Storage(a) Capacity. The minimum clearwell, storage tank, and pressure maintenance capacity shall be governed by the requirements in § 290.45 of this title (relating to Minimum Water System Capacity Requirements).(b) Location of clearwells, standpipes, and ground storage and elevated tanks.(1) No public water supply elevated storage or ground storage tank shall be located:(A) within 500 feet of any; (i) municipal or industrial sewage treatment plant;(ii) land which is spray irrigated with sewage treatment plant effluent; or(iii) land on which sewage treatment plant sludge, septic tank sewage sludge, or biosolids is applied; or(B) within 150 feet of any land spray irrigated with effluent from onsite sewage facilities as defined in § 285.2 of this title (related to Definitions).(2) Insofar as possible, clearwells or treated water tanks shall not be located under any part of any buildings and, when possible, shall be constructed partially or wholly above ground.(3) No storage tank or clearwell located below ground level is allowed within 50 feet of a sanitary sewer or septic tank. However, if the sanitary sewers are constructed of 150 pounds per square inch (psi) pressure-rated pipe with pressure-tested, watertight joints as used in water main construction, the minimum separation distance is ten feet.(4) No storage tank or clearwell located below ground level is allowed within 150 feet of a septic tank soil absorption system.(c) Design and construction of clearwells, standpipes, ground storage tanks, and elevated tanks. All facilities for potable water storage shall be covered and designed, fabricated, erected, tested, and disinfected in strict accordance with current American Water Works Association (AWWA) standards and shall be provided with the minimum number, size and type of roof vents, man ways, drains, sample connections, access ladders, overflows, liquid level indicators, and other appurtenances as specified in these rules. The roof of all tanks shall be designed and erected so that no water ponds at any point on the roof and, in addition, no area of the roof shall have a slope of less than 0.75 inch per foot.(1) Roof vents shall be gooseneck or roof ventilator and be designed by the engineer based on the maximum outflow from the tank. Vents shall be installed in strict accordance with current AWWA standards and shall be equipped with approved screens to prevent entry of animals, birds, insects and heavy air contaminants. Screens shall be fabricated of corrosion-resistant material and shall be 16-mesh or finer. Screens shall be securely clamped in place with stainless or galvanized bands or wires and shall be designed to withstand winds of not less than tank design criteria (unless specified otherwise by the engineer).(2) All roof openings shall be designed in accordance with current AWWA standards. If an alternate 30-inch diameter access opening is not provided in a storage tank, the primary roof access opening shall not be less than 30 inches in diameter. Other roof openings required only for ventilating purposes during cleaning, repairing or painting operations shall be not less than 24 inches in diameter or as specified by the licensed professional engineer. An existing tank without a 30-inch in diameter access opening must be modified to meet this requirement when major repair or maintenance is performed on the tank. Each access opening shall have a raised curbing at least four inches in height with a lockable cover that overlaps the curbing at least two inches in a downward direction. Where necessary, a gasket shall be used to make a positive seal when the hatch is closed. All hatches shall remain locked except during inspections and maintenance.(3) Overflows shall be designed in strict accordance with current AWWA standards. If the overflow terminates at any point other than the ground level, it shall be located near enough and at a position accessible from a ladder or the balcony for inspection purposes. The overflow(s) shall be sized to handle the maximum possible fill rate without exceeding the capacity of the overflow(s). The discharge opening of the overflow(s) shall be above the surface of the ground and shall not be subject to submergence. The discharge opening shall be covered with a gravity-hinged and weighted cover, an elastomeric duckbill valve, or other approved device to prevent the entrance of insects and other nuisances. When the tank is not overflowing, the cover shall close automatically and fit tightly with no gap over 1/16 inch.(4) All clearwells and water storage tanks shall have a liquid level indicator located at the tank site. The indicator can be a float with a moving target, an ultrasonic level indicator, or a pressure gauge calibrated in feet of water. If an elevated tank or standpipe has a float with moving target indicator, it must also have a pressure indicator located at ground level. Pressure gauges must not be less than three inches in diameter and calibrated at not more than two-foot intervals. Remote reading gauges at the owner's treatment plant or pumping station will not eliminate the requirement for a gauge at the tank site unless the tank is located at the plant or station.(5) Inlet and outlet connections shall be located so as to prevent short-circuiting or stagnation of water. Clearwells used for disinfectant contact time shall be appropriately baffled.(6) Clearwells and potable water storage tanks shall be thoroughly tight against leakage, shall be located above the groundwater table, and shall have no walls in common with any other plant units containing water in the process of treatment. All associated appurtenances including valves, pipes, and fittings shall be tight against leakage.(7) Each clearwell or potable water storage tank shall be provided with a means of removing accumulated silt and deposits at all low points in the bottom of the tank. Drains shall not be connected to any waste or sewage disposal system and shall be constructed so that they are not a potential agent in the contamination of the stored water. Each clearwell or potable water storage tank must be designed to drain the tank.(8) All clearwells, ground storage tanks, standpipes, and elevated tanks shall be painted, disinfected, and maintained in strict accordance with current AWWA standards. However, no temporary coatings, wax grease coatings, or coating materials containing lead will be allowed. No other coatings will be allowed which are not approved for use (as a contact surface with potable water) by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, NSF International (NSF), or United States Food and Drug Administration. All newly installed coatings must conform to American National Standards Institute/NSF (ANSI/NSF) Standard 61 and must be certified by an organization accredited by ANSI.(9) No tanks or containers shall be used to store potable water that have previously been used for any nonpotable purpose. Where a used tank is proposed for use, a letter from the previous owner or owners must be submitted to the executive director which states the use of the tank.(10) Access manways in the riser pipe, shell area, access tube, bowl area or any other location opening directly into the water compartment shall be located in strict accordance with current AWWA standards. These openings shall not be less than 24 inches in diameter. However, in the case of a riser pipe or access tube of 36 inches in diameter or smaller, the access manway may be 18 inches times 24 inches with the vertical dimension not less than 24 inches. The primary access manway in the lower ring or section of a ground storage tank shall be not less than 30 inches in diameter. Where necessary, for any access manway which allows direct access to the water compartment, a gasket shall be used to make a positive seal when the access manway is closed.(d) Design and construction of pressure (hydropneumatic) tanks. All hydropneumatic tanks must be located wholly above grade and must be of steel construction with welded seams except as provided in paragraph (8) of this subsection.(1) Metal thickness for pressure tanks shall be sufficient to withstand the highest expected working pressures with a four to one factor of safety. Tanks of 1,000 gallons capacity or larger must meet the standards of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Section VIII, Division 1 Codes and Construction Regulations and must have an access port for periodic inspections. An ASME name plate must be permanently attached to those tanks. Tanks installed before July 1, 1988, are exempt from the ASME coding requirement, but all new installations must meet this regulation. Exempt tanks can be relocated within a system but cannot be relocated to another system.(2) All pressure tanks shall be provided with a pressure release device and an easily readable pressure gauge. When more than one pressure tank is connected by a common manifold pipe and pressure switch to allow the tanks to operate as a single unit, the unit shall be provided at least one pressure gauge.(3) Facilities shall be provided for maintaining the air-water-volume at the design water level and working pressure. Air injection lines must be equipped with filters or other devices to prevent compressor lubricants and other contaminants from entering the pressure tank. A device to readily determine air-water-volume must be provided for all tanks greater than 1,000 gallon capacity. Galvanized tanks which are not provided with the necessary fittings and which were installed before July 1, 1988 shall be exempt from this requirement.(4) Protective paint or coating shall be applied to the inside portion of any pressure tank. The coating shall be as specified in subsection (c)(8) of this section.(5) No pressure tank that has been used to store any material other than potable water may be used in a public water system. A letter from the previous owner or owners must be provided as specified in subsection (c)(9) of this section.(6) Pressure tank installations should be equipped with slow closing valves and time delay pump controls to eliminate water hammer and reduce the chance of tank failure.(7) All associated appurtenances including valves, pipes and fittings connected to pressure tanks shall be thoroughly tight against leakage.(8) Where seamless fiberglass tanks are utilized, they shall not exceed 300 gallons in capacity.(9) No more than three pressure tanks shall be installed at any one site without the prior approval of the executive director.(e) Facility security. All potable water storage tanks and pressure maintenance facilities must be installed in a lockable building that is designed to prevent intruder access or enclosed by an intruder-resistant fence with lockable gates. Pedestal-type elevated storage tanks with lockable doors and without external ladders are exempt from this requirement. The gates and doors must be kept locked whenever the facility is unattended.(f) Service pumps. Service pump installations taking suction from storage tanks shall provide automatic low water level cutoff devices to prevent damage to the pumps. The service pump circuitry shall also resume pumping automatically once the minimum water level is reached in the tank.(g) Weatherization. All critical components necessary for the safe and sufficient storage of raw water or treated drinking water must be protected from adverse weather conditions.30 Tex. Admin. Code § 290.43
The provisions of this §290.43 adopted to be effective October 1, 1992, 17 TexReg 6455; amended to be effective November 3, 1995, 20 TexReg 8620; amended to be effective February 4, 1999, 24 TexReg 731; amended to be effective February 19, 2004, 29 TexReg 1373; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 40, Number 30, July 24, 2015, TexReg 4786, eff. 7/30/2015; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 48, Number 50, December 15, 2023, TexReg 7585, eff. 12/21/2023