Committee hears bill to stop default 2.5-person assumption that can reclassify small water systems

House Bill 1615 would bar the Department of Health from using a default residents-per-service-connection number if that assumed figure would reclassify a public water system from group B to group A, witnesses told the Environment & Energy Committee.

Supporters said the bill aims to prevent small, seasonal or sparsely occupied systems from being shifted into a stricter regulatory class — and the higher costs that can follow — based on a statewide default occupancy assumption. An intern for the committee explained that state rules currently treat a system as group A if it has 15 or more service connections, serves an average of 25 or more people per day, or serves 1,000 or more people for two consecutive days. Department of Health guidance currently uses a default estimate of 2.5 residents per dwelling to calculate population served.

Committee staff and sponsors said the measure responds to a real…