Small Water System Management Program Requirements

Owning and operating a public drinking water system is a big responsibility. As an owner/operator, you are obligated to protect the health of your system's users by maintaining the integrity and reliability of your water system.

All community and non-community water systems not required to submit a WSP must develop and implement a Small Water System Management Program (SWSMP).

Except in certain circumstances, we don't require water systems to submit their SWSMP to us for approval.
Sanitary surveyors will discuss SWSMP development as part of the sanitary survey process.

Submitting your plan for approval

We will require a water system to submit its SWSMP for review and approval when:

A new non-transient non-community water system is created.
A water system seeks to be eligible for a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) loan.
A water system has operational, managerial, or financial problems and we determine that completing a SWSMP may help correct these problems.
A water system seeks existing system "as built" approval under WAC246-290-140.

Contact your regional planner for a preplan meeting to discuss the scope and level of detail for your SWSMP if you intend to submit it for approval.

The Small Water System Management Program Guide 331-134 (Word) for community systems, assist owners and operators of small non-expanding Group A water systems to operate and manage their systems to protect the health of their customers.

The Noncommunity Small Water System Management Program Guide for non-community systems, assist owners and operators of small non-expanding Group A water systems to operate and manage their systems to protect the health of their customers.

The community guide meets the needs of small community water systems. The non-community guide meets the needs of small non-community systems. Users will find these guides helpful on a routine, ongoing basis. They contain useful information, detailed instructions that prompt users to fill in the blanks with system-specific information. These guides can be used for:

A central location for water system records and policies.
A process to evaluate current and future water system needs and improvements needed for continued reliable system operations.
A list of operation and maintenance duties that can be used, reviewed, and improved by system personnel so they have the information they need and can easily keep it current.

Completing the guide for your type of water system satisfies the Small Water System Management Program requirement in WAC 246-290-105.