45-342

45-342. System water plan; components;
exceptions

A. Except as provided in subsections D and E of this section, by the dates
specified in subsections B or C of this section, each community water system shall
prepare and submit to the director a system water plan that includes the following
components:

1. A water supply plan.

2. A drought preparedness plan.

3. A water conservation plan.

B. Except as provided in subsection C of this section, a large community water
system shall submit its first system water plan to the director on or before January 1,
2007, and shall submit an updated plan within six months prior to January 1 of every
fifth calendar year thereafter. A small community water system shall submit its first
system water plan to the director on or before January 1, 2008, and shall submit an
updated plan within six months prior to January 1 of every fifth calendar year
thereafter. For a small community water system that submits its request to the director
at least ninety days before the filing deadline, the director may extend the time for
filing the first water system plan. If a community water system revises its system water
plan after submitting the plan to the director, the community water system shall submit
the revised plan to the director within sixty days from the date of revision.

C. If more than one community water system serves water to residents within a city
or town, two or more of the community water systems serving water to residents within
that city or town may coordinate their efforts in preparing the plans required by this
section and may submit a joint plan that contains the information required in this
section for that portion of the community supplied by the community water systems instead
of submitting individual water system plans. Community water systems that submit a joint
plan pursuant to this subsection shall submit the plan to the director by the date on
which a small community water system is required to submit its system water plan under
subsection B of this section. The director may extend the time for filing the first water
system plan for a joint plan that includes a small community water system if the request
is received ninety days before the filing deadline.

D. A community water system that has been designated as having an assured water
supply pursuant to section 45-576 is exempt from the requirement to submit a water supply
plan under this section.

E. A community water system regulated as a large municipal provider under chapter
2, article 9 of this title is exempt from the requirement to submit a water conservation
plan under this section. The director shall exempt a community water system regulated as
a small municipal provider under chapter 2, article 9 of this title from the requirement
to submit a water conservation plan under this section if the community water system:

1. Petitions the director for an exemption prior to January 1, 2007.

2. Demonstrates, under reasonable growth projections, that it will be regulated as
a large municipal provider under chapter 2, article 9 of this title prior to January 1,
2012.

F. A community water system that has previously submitted information required by
this section to the director may make a written request to the director to be exempted
from the requirement to submit the information in its system water plan. The director
shall grant the exemption if the director determines that the information is already on
file with the department.

G. The director shall review a system water plan, including a revised plan,
submitted by a community water system pursuant to subsection B of this section and shall
notify the community water system in writing as to whether the plan complies with this
section. If the director determines that the plan does not comply with this section, the
director shall give written notice of that determination to the community water system
and give the community water system at least one hundred twenty days to make revisions or
additions as are necessary to bring the plan into compliance. If the community water
system does not bring the plan into compliance by the date specified in the notice, the
director shall provide notice of the noncompliance to the governing bodies of the cities,
towns and counties located within the service area of the community water system. If the
director determines that the plan is in compliance with this section but that changes
would improve the plan, the director shall give written notice of the changes to the
community water system but the water system shall not be required to make the changes.

H. The water supply plan shall evaluate the water supply needs in the service area
and propose a strategy to meet identified needs. The plan shall include:

1. A list and description of service area lands, sources of supply, including
emergency sources, well registration numbers and water levels at the well sites, if
known, and storage and treatment facilities. The list shall not include water levels at
well sites that are sources of supply for hard rock mining or metallurgical processing or
industrial uses related to hard rock mining or metallurgical processing.

2. A map and description of existing transmission and distribution facilities,
unless previously provided pursuant to section 45-498. For a small community water system
a map is not required.

3. A description of monthly system production data categorized by the system's
sources of supply and, for systems that use meters to measure withdrawals and diversions,
a summary of system average daily demands, maximum monthly demands and an estimate of
peak day demands for the past five years.

4. A list, description and map of existing interconnections unless previously
provided pursuant to section 45-498, and the quantities of water sold to or purchased
from other water systems during the previous five years, unless previously provided
pursuant to section 45-632. For a small community water system a map is not required.

5. An analysis of present and future water supply demands for the next five, ten
and twenty years.

I. The drought preparedness plan shall be designed to meet the specific needs of
the water system for which it applies and shall include:

1. The name, address and telephone number of the community water system and the
names of the officers or other persons responsible for directing operations during a
water shortage emergency.

2. Drought or emergency response stages providing for the implementation of
measures in response to reduction in available water supply due to drought or
infrastructure failure.

3. A plan of action that the community water system will take to respond to drought
or water shortage conditions, including:

(a) Provisions to actively inform the public of the water supply shortage and a
program for continued education and information regarding implementation of the drought
preparedness plan.

(b) Development of emergency supplies, which may include identification of
emergency or redundant facilities to withdraw, divert or transport substitute supplies of
the same or other types of water.

(c) Specific water supply or water demand management measures for each stage of
drought or water shortage conditions, subject to approval by the corporation commission
if the community water system is a public service corporation. This requirement may be
met by providing a curtailment tariff on file with the corporation commission.

J. The water conservation plan shall be designed to increase the efficiency of the
water system, reduce waste and encourage consumer water conservation efforts. The water
conservation plan shall be designed to meet the specific needs of the community water
system and shall include both demand and supply management measures including the
following:

1. Feasible measures that may be implemented to determine and control lost and
unaccounted for water.

2. Consideration of water rate structures that encourage efficient use of water, as
set by the community water system's governing body, subject to approval by the
corporation commission if the community water system is a public service corporation.

3. A continuing conservation education program containing provisions to actively
inform the public of drought conditions and information regarding conservation measures
to reduce vulnerability from drought conditions, including:

(a) Curtailment of nonessential water uses.

(b) Affordable efficiency technologies for indoor and outdoor use.

(d) Reuse and recycling programs.

K. The water conservation plan shall be implemented by the community water system
within twelve months after receiving written notification from the director that the plan
complies with this section. For a community water system that receives a notice pursuant
to subsection G of this section that the water conservation plan does not comply with
this section, the water conservation plan shall be implemented within twelve months after
the expiration of the date by which the system is required to make revisions or additions
to the plan to bring it into compliance, as specified in the notice given to the system
under subsection G of this section.

L. The director shall prepare forms that small community water systems may complete
and submit as their system water plan under this section. The director shall distribute
the forms on a timely schedule and furnish them upon request. Failure to receive or
obtain a form does not relieve any community water system from the requirement to file a
system water plan by the date prescribed in subsections B or C of this section. The
director of water resources shall coordinate with the corporation commission and the
director of environmental quality in establishing the form to facilitate the reporting of
similar or identical information to the department of water resources and the corporation
commission or to the department of water resources and the department of environmental
quality.

M. The director shall prepare a guidance document to assist community water systems
in preparing the water system plan. The director shall cooperate with cities and towns,
private water companies and irrigation districts that are community water systems in
developing the guidance document and the form described in subsection L of this section.