I’m looking at a park based in Oklahoma that has to have it’s water tested by the Department of Environmental Quality.
The park is on city water and city sewer but still:
pays for bacterial testing EVERY month
pays for disinfection products every quarter
pays for lead/copper testing every 3-years
I haven’t seen this discussed with city water and sewer, is this common practice?
(The park is NOT individual metered at this time) Would that make a difference?
Thanks
This happens semi commonly if the park (water system) purchases water and resells it. The system can be and is sometimes classified as it own public water system. Once the system is classified as a public water system it is required to test usually just coliform bacteria, lead and copper. The fact that the system is required to test for disinfection by products makes me wunder if additional chlorine is being added once the water enters the park but then again maybe the government wants more testing 
There is not much logical reason to retest the water for disinfection by products as the city is already doing it.
What you explained is NORMAL. The really big problem is you will need to have a backup plan (very extensive and has to be approved by DEQ) if you ever have a positive bt sample (more than 10 new samples will be required at different location per determined by DEQ approved plans) plus only a licensed operator may take the monthly water sample. The testing is very similar to being on wells. DEQ will not bend on any part of the testing even if it is a new system of water lines and the lead-copper testing is really question able since in MUST be done in a home(s) usually 5 homes. Individual metering makes no difference to DEQ. I would be glad to help if you have other questions about OK. and DEQ.
I own 2 parks in OK. Both are on city water and both require water testing. BUT, OK just passed a new change to what a PWS is.
If a park is connected to city water and does NOT bill back usage, you will probably be removed from the test requirement. Apparently if you charge a flat rate, they don’t consider that billing for usage, but if you have water meters in and charge the tenants by what they use, you are still a PWS and have to test. Why is that? No one knows, that is just how the wrote the bill.
So I have 1 park I have not installed meters in and it should come off the list this fall. Which is great because it has been failing tests for residuals because the city is failing also and I can’t fix that kind of problem.
My other park I installed meters in 4 years ago and have been billing for water usage. That park I will still have to test. It has never failed, but I would like to remove the oversite by DEQ and the potential of issues down the road. So I’m not sure what I will do yet.
At any rate, this is good news for many parks in OK.
DEQ will still require the testing for city water since the lines inside your park could be questionable as to resulting water quality or infusion of contaminates because of out dated and leaking lines in the park water lines. If city water coming to your park is in question you as the park owner will have the responsibility of making correction–sound silly but if chlorine residue is to low YOU the park owner will have to make the correction–as per DEQ representatives. We had that battle until we put in our own state-approved water system. City water was at times with NO chlorine residue and thus our samples COULD FAIL.
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