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General Plan Approval Process

A Public Drinking Water Project means the construction of, addition to, or modification of a public drinking water facility that may affect the quality or quantity of the drinking water. The purpose of a DDW plan review is to assure that all public drinking water facilities are designed and constructed in a manner which protects public health.

Plan Review Checklists

Below are two checklists that are useful in the pre-plan review process. The first checklist helps distinguish between a public drinking water project, which requires plan review, and on-going operation and maintenance, which does not. The second checklist helps determine whether a hydraulic modeling report or simply a hydraulic certification is required to accompany plans and specifications.

  1. Public Drinking Water Project Checklist
  2. Hydraulic Modeling Checklist

Typical Steps

A Public Drinking Water Project requires the submittal of plans and specifications to DDW and typically follows three steps:

  1. Submit a Project Notification Form to the Division.
  2. Submit engineering plans and specifications prepared and stamped by a Professional Engineer licensed to practice in Utah, as required in R309-500-6(2)(c), and obtain Plan Approval before starting construction.
  3. After construction is complete, obtain an Operating Permit before putting the new facility into operation. The following checklists are available to assist with plan approval and operating permits:

Requirements for All Public Drinking Water Projects

The following general requirements apply to all Public Drinking Water Projects:

  1. The plans and specifications for “Public Drinking Water Projects” must conform to Utah’s drinking water design and construction standards. (R309-500 through 550)
  2. The plans and specifications shall be stamped, dated, and signed by a Professional Engineer licensed to practice in Utah. The design should be final and ready for construction.
  3. The plans and specifications shall be sufficiently detailed to assure proper construction in the field. For example, water line projects should typically include the plan and profile views of the water lines and any other utilities that would affect the construction of the water lines.
  4. Those submitting plans and seeking Plan Approval should assume at least a 30-day Division review period. The review period could be longer if submittals are incomplete or fail to meet applicable design and construction standards.
  5. No public drinking water project can be constructed until plans are “approved” per R309-500-6 Plan Approval Procedure.
  6. No constructed facility of “Public Drinking Water Projects” may be put into operation until an “Operating Permit” is issued.
  7. Failure to obtain the necessary approvals prior to construction may result in costly modifications. A system that operates unapproved facilities or sources is subject to 50 to 200 deficiency points and risks a Not Approved water system rating.
  8. If a water line project involves replacing or abandoning the asbestos-cement (AC) pipe, additional information is required during plan review to assure conformance with federal and State asbestos requirements. Please contact Division of Air Quality (DAQ) for additional information on DAQ’s asbestos requirements:
    Leonard Wright (leonardwright@utah.gov), Manager
    ATLAS (Air Toxics, Lead-Based Paint, and Asbestos) Section
    Division of Air Quality
    Utah Department of Environmental Quality
    Phone: (801) 707-8032

Contact Info

For general information regarding plan review, contact the DDW engineering section at (801) 536-4200.


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