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WQD | Public Water System (PWS) Requirements

Safe Drinking Water Section

Public Water System (PWS) Requirements

Revised On: Dec. 11, 2023 - 1:00 p.m.

Engineering Review Of Public Water Systems

Before developing a new drinking water system or modifying an existing system (including the addition of new water sources), an applicant is required to apply for and receive an "Approval of Construction" from ADEQ before they can begin operating | Learn More > 

Capacity Development

New community and nontransient, noncommunity public water systems must provide an Elementary Business Plan, including supporting documentation for the capacity development evaluation. The Drinking Water Section issues Elementary Business Plan Approval to the applicant for presentation to the Engineering Review staff or, when applicable, to a delegated county or entity, for the review and approval of plans and specifications for the operation of the new public water system.

Operator Certification

Only certified operators are allowed to make decisions about process control or system integrity of public water systems. ADEQ's Operator Certification Program establishes minimum standards and guidelines for certification and recertification of the operators of drinking water and wastewater systems | Learn More >

Monitoring Assistance Program (MAP) 

All public water systems (community and non-transient non-community excluding state or federally owned) serving less then 10,000 people are required to participate in the Monitoring Assistance Program | Learn More > 

Consumer Confidence Reports

Community water systems are required to produce Consumer Confidence Reports annually and submit them to ADEQ by July 1. The Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) needs to describe a number of items such as the source of the water, levels of contaminates found, the possible source of these contaminates and the corrective actions taken, mandatory language regarding the health effects, other information about your water system and the quality of the water your system delivers to your customers.

Emergency Operations and Emergency Response Plan

All community water systems, regardless of size are required to develop and maintain an Emergency Operations Plan. Community water systems that serve more than 3,300 people also need to complete an Emergency Response Plan.