ADEQ Public Water Approval

Administrative Review Requirements

Application package shall consist of:

• PDF of construction plans sealed by an Arizona Registered Professional
• Application for Approval to Construct Water Projects
• A letter from the City of Tucson Water Department, Metro Water or Oro Valley Water Utility stating that required storage and 20-psi will be maintained under all conditions of flow pursuant to A.A.C. R18-5-502 and R18-5-503 will suffice in lieu of a hydraulic modeling report. The letter must be based on the results of hydraulic modeling performed by the water utility.

Substantive Review Requirements

• Plans and specifications must conform with ADEQ Bulletin # 8 and Bulletin # 10
• Please see our additional guidance for operating, maintaining, monitoring and reporting compliance of Public Water Systems

Process

• Applicant  emails application package to sewer@pima.gov, provides FTP link or USB drive
• If corrections are required, Pima County will follow-up directly with applicant
• Prior to approval, Pima County will email applicant invoice
• Upon applicant payment of invoice, Pima County will email applicant approved plans/ADEQ Approval to Construct, and copy municipality
• If utility is requesting modifications to plans following Pima County approval, applicant is responsible for following up with Pima County regarding changes affecting approved water design
• Process for unincorporated County may be imbedded in site construction permit
• Following construction, applicant submits as-built plans, Engineer's Certificate of Completion and the Water Line Test Documentation Sheet to sewer@pima.gov  

Exemption Requests

***Effective July 1, 2022, Pima County’s Exemption process will change***
In order to comply with state (ADEQ) requirements, projects that meet the exemption request criteria will receive a Provisional Water Exemption letter from Pima County. Upon project completion, applicants will be required to email the following information to PWS_Shared_Mailbox@pima.gov:

1. Fair market value cost estimate for the project (or actual cost if changed),
2. The name of the design and review engineer(s), and
3. The project completion date and the total construction time

Once this information is received, applicants will receive a Final Water Exemption letter. Receipt of the Final Water Exemption letter will indicate the project is in compliance with Arizona Administrative Code R18-5-505(B)(4).

Please contact Jennifer.Lynch@pima.gov (520.724.7323) with any questions.

• Has a project cost of $12,500 or less; or
• Is made to a water line that:
  
  
  • Is not for a subdivision requiring plat approval by a city, town, or county;
  • Has a project cost of more than $12,500 but less than $50,000; and
  • Has a design that is sealed and signed by a professional engineer registered in Arizona and the construction of which is reviewed for conformance with the design by a professional engineer registered in Arizona.

• A letter that indicates the submittal of the project under the exemption request;
• A brief narrative of the project scope;
• A PDF of the plans; and
• The cost estimate for the project. If the cost estimate is from a contractor, the estimate must be provided in the original format with the contractor’s business logo/information on the document. If the cost estimate is provided by an engineer, the estimate must be sealed by a registered P.E.
• For purposes of determining project costs, project cost is determined by the sum of the following cost categories:
  
  
  • Preparation of submittal quality design documents and related application documents for the project proposed for installation;
  • All equipment/components/material delivered to the construction site;
  • All excavation and backfill;
  • All installation of equipment/components/materials; and
  • All tasks associated with pre-operational testing and startup.