Whether a water treatment plant operator or a water distribution operator, knowing where your Water System stands with the TCEQ is a must. Not only because it's our responsibility to protect public health through the TCEQs regulations, but also to avoid fines and violations (which suck).
That gets a big "Nope!" from us—we don't want that to happen to you or anyone else!
Checking up on your Water System with the TCEQ’s Texas Drinking Water Watch is fast and easy. It's so easy it can be done in 3 simple steps. Let's take a quick look.
1. Follow the URL
You can start by visiting the Texas Drinking Water Watch utility.
2. Enter Your Water System Number
On the Texas Drinking Water Watch page, notice the six text fields in the Public Water Supply System Search Parameters section:
Water System No.
Water System Name
Activity Status
Principal County Served
Water System Type
Primary Source Water Type
Simply fill in the top field with your entity's water system number. You aren't required to fill in all six. Once you've filled in the appropriate information, click the "Search For Water Systems" button.
Notes About Texas Drinking Water Watch
Unlike the TCEQ License Lookup utility, entering incomplete information won't necessarily end in an error message. This makes the Texas Drinking Water Watch utility easier to use, in our opinion.
If, for example, I mistype Lewisville's water system number by forgetting the trailing '4' (i.e., TX061000), the Texas Drinking Water Watch utility returns records that include all of the characters leading up to that missing/dropped character. Even with butterfingers, it's easy to find your water system.
3. By the Numbers
In the image above, note there are three hyperlinks:
Water System No.
Fact Sheet
Summary Sheet
As the section title suggests, click on the water system number hyperlink to access imminently valuable information about your water system.
Note
While there is undoubtedly excellent information contained in all three of these links, the only information of consequence for me is accessible by clicking the water system number link. In a future post, I'll outline what you can expect on the Fact Sheet and Summary Sheet pages. Count on some useful tips to make the most of the information contained therein as well.
4. Check Your Status
The second column from the left contains two links that are of utmost importance:
Violations
Enforcement Actions
There's a treasure trove of information in the Texas Drinking Water Watch utility, make no mistake. However, these two areas are imperative for keeping a watchful eye on matters that can have far-ranging consequences if allowed to fade from view. While the TCEQ won't leave you in the dark, there may be factors at play that prevent information from reaching your desk as quickly as you might expect.
Note
Some municipal entities require violations and enforcement notices to go through the mayor's office before trickling down to the relevant division(s) and their supervisor(s). Whether a holdover from an outdated process or when a civic entity was much smaller than it currently is, if this information gets delayed, it only creates headaches for supervisory staff and decision-makers.
The Wrap
Being surprised by violations and/or enforcement actions is completely avoidable. It is also possible for the TCEQ to make mistakes, leading to awkward questions and raised heart rates when the news hits the desk of the main water system contact. Checking up on your Water System with TCEQ Texas Drinking Water Watch is quick and easy.
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