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Bill would bar use of default household counts to reclassify small water systems
Summary
Substitute House Bill 16 15 would prohibit using a default occupancy number (2.5 persons per dwelling) to calculate average persons served when that default would bump a Group B public water system into Group A, a change sponsors say would avoid costly reclassification for small communities.
The Senate Agriculture Committee heard Substitute House Bill 16 15, which would prevent Department of Health planners and purveyors from using a default population number to reclassify a small public water system from Group B to Group A when that default causes the reclassification.
Elena Becker, committee staff, briefed members on the statutory difference between Group A and Group B water systems: Group A systems meet any of three criteria — 15 or more service connections, an average of at least 25 people per day for 60 days in a year, or serving 1,000 or more people for two or more consecutive days — and are subject to more stringent design, operation and testing rules. By Department of Health rule, purveyors preparing new or expanded Group B system designs must calculate residential population using a default assumption of 2.5 persons per dwelling when estimating population; the bill would bar using such a default where it would cause a system that otherwise would be Group B to be classified as Group A, Becker said. A fiscal note estimated no fiscal impact.
Rep. Michelle Caldier, prime sponsor, said the bill grew from a constituent dispute: a 14‑connection homeowners association faced a projected reclassification that she said would have cost the neighborhood roughly $50,000 and $4,000–$5,000 per home. Caldier described the proposal as a fix to an unfair administrative practice that can impose large, unnecessary costs on small, low‑risk communities.
Public testimony included Jack Dunn, president of the South Head Water Association, who described a 12‑connection system with nine year‑round residents that was treated as a 30‑person system because of the 2.5 default and faced an estimated $50,000 cost to meet Group A requirements. He and local public‑health witnesses argued the bill would restore common‑sense alignment between design assumptions and actual local conditions in many rural systems.
The committee held public testimony and did not take action during the hearing.
