Three Things You Need to Know for a Better Community Water and Sewer System

A better rural water and sewer system comes from three things, done in order: measure what you have and what you lose, pick technology your operators can actually run, and bring residents into the plan before anyone votes on rates. Skip the first step and the other two rest on guesses.

How do you assess your community's water and sewer needs?

Measure how much water you lose, what shape your assets are in, and how close your wastewater plant is to its permitted flow. Those numbers, not the loudest complaint at the last meeting, should set the project list.

How much water are you losing?

Run a water audit. EPA's fact sheet on water audits and water loss control (July 2013) calls the audit the first of three steps: audit, intervention, then evaluation. It cites an industry manual that puts average system loss at 16 percent, with up to 75 percent of that recoverable.

The first pass is a desk exercise. Water added to the system over a year, minus authorized consumption (billed and unbilled), is your loss. Then split it. Apparent losses are meter error, theft and billing mistakes, and they cost revenue. Real losses are leaks from mains and service lines up to and including the meter, plus tank leaks and overflows, and they cost the energy and chemicals spent treating water nobody used.

In Texas this is a filing, not a suggestion. Under Texas Water Code §16.0121 and TWDB's water loss audit rule, 31 TAC §358.6, a retail water utility with more than 3,300 connections, or with an outstanding TWDB loan, loan forgiveness agreement or grant agreement, files every year. Smaller systems without board assistance file every five years. Audits are due May 1, and the person doing one must have completed the board's water loss audit training. For the field work that follows a desk audit, see why a detailed water loss analysis matters.

What do you own, and what shape is it in?

Build an asset inventory. EPA's Asset Management: A Best Practices Guide (April 2008) starts with plain questions: what do I own, where is it, what condition is it in, what is its useful life, and what is it worth. Use estimates where records are thin; the guide says the inventory improves as assets are repaired or replaced.

Then rank by risk. The guide defines critical assets as those with a high chance of failing and major consequences if they do. An old well pump with no backup usually ranks above a newer main serving a few homes.

How close is your plant to capacity?

For wastewater, compare monthly flow to your permit. In Texas, 30 TAC §305.126 requires engineering and financial planning for expansion or upgrades once flow reaches 75 percent of the permitted average daily or annual average flow for three consecutive months. At 90 percent for three consecutive months, you need TCEQ authorization before building the added treatment or collection facilities. TCEQ may waive this in writing if an engineering report shows the planned load stays within the design.

Wet months count. If rainwater getting into the sewer is what pushes you past 75 percent, the better fix may be in the collection system, not at the plant.

Which new technologies are worth it for a small system?

The ones that fix a problem your numbers already show, and that your operators can run and repair. Technology that needs skills, parts or power you do not have is likely to cost more than it saves.

On the water side, the EPA water loss fact sheet lists the usual tools: meter testing and replacement, acoustic and other leak detection, pressure management to cut background leakage and rupture rates, and hydraulic models, which must be calibrated to field data to be usable. It also points to AWWA's free water audit software for the numbers.

On the wastewater side, take membrane bioreactors (MBRs). EPA's membrane bioreactor fact sheet (September 2007) credits MBRs with better effluent, a smaller footprint and ease of automation, which suits reuse and tight nutrient limits. It also lists the trade-offs: typically higher capital and operating costs, membrane cleaning and fouling control, eventual membrane replacement, more energy for air scouring, and fine screens ahead of the membranes that need frequent cleaning.

One detail matters for older collection systems: the fact sheet says peak design flow should be no more than 1.5 to 2 times average design flow, or you need more membrane area or equalization. Size your wet weather peaks before you pick a process.

Before you buy, ask who runs it at 2 a.m., where the parts come from, and what happens to treatment while a unit is down for service.

How do you get residents behind a water and sewer project?

Show them the numbers early, in plain words, and tie every project to service they can see: pressure, water quality, fewer main breaks, no backups. People fight rate increases they do not understand.

EPA's asset management guide lists "overcoming resistance to rate increases" among the challenges water systems face. Its level of service step is the useful part here: set the level from what customers demand, what regulators require and what your assets can deliver, then publish a level of service agreement with performance targets. That turns a rate vote into a question residents can weigh: this is the service, and this is what it takes to keep it.

Use the channels you already have. Existing community water systems owe customers a Consumer Confidence Report by July 1 each year under 40 CFR 141.152. Hold the planning meeting around then, bring the audit and the ranked asset list, and show the options side by side, including waiting.

Then cover funding. The guide's long-term funding options are revising the rate structure, a dedicated reserve from current revenue, and borrowing or other financial assistance. A capital improvement plan for a small municipality puts that sequence on paper.

Is your system ready to plan its next project?

Answer yes or no to each item. If you answer no to more than two, fix the data before you pick a project.

1. Do you have a year of source-metered water produced or purchased, and billed and unbilled use for the same year?
2. Is your last water loss audit filed, and in Texas, done by someone with TWDB's training?
3. Is there a current map of mains, valves, tanks, wells and lift stations?
4. Does each major asset have an age or condition rating, even an estimate?
5. Do you track wastewater plant flow against your permit every month?
6. Have you written down the level of service you promise residents?

Then take these questions to your engineer: which losses are real and which are on paper, which assets fail first and hurt most, and how many years of growth your plants have left. More on how we work with small systems is on our page for utilities and municipalities.

A note on limits: this is general education from public sources, current as of October 2026. The Texas rules cited apply only in Texas, other states set their own, and your engineer and the reviewing agency have the final word.

Frequently asked questions

How often does a small Texas water utility file a water loss audit?

Every five years with 3,300 or fewer connections and no TWDB financial assistance. Every year otherwise. Audits are due May 1.

Does TWDB set a water loss threshold?

Yes. Under 31 TAC §358.6, real loss must stay below 30 gallons per connection per day for systems with 32 or more connections per mile, and below 57 gallons for systems with fewer. Apparent loss has its own limit, calculated for each utility. A utility at or above its threshold that gets TWDB financial assistance for a water supply project must put part of that assistance toward reducing the loss, unless, on request, the board finds it is already mitigating the loss satisfactorily.

I'm the general manager of a small Texas water supply corporation, and our board wants to replace every meter. How do we know whether meters or leaks are our bigger loss?

Run the top-down audit first and split the loss. If apparent losses dominate, check billing data and test a sample of meters before replacing them all. If real losses dominate, put the effort into leak detection, pressure management and repairs. New meters will not stop a leaking main.

I'm on the city council of a small Texas town, and residents packed our last meeting to fight a sewer rate increase. How do we bring them into the plan before the next vote?

Start well before the vote. Share plant flow against your permit, the ranked list of failing assets and the level of service you want to keep. If the plant is close, explain the 75 and 90 percent triggers in 30 TAC §305.126. Take questions before the rate is on the agenda.

Related resources

• Optimizing Collection Systems: Advanced Solutions for I&I Challenges in Rural Communities
• Knowing When Your Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Needs to be Upgraded: A Guide for Rural Communities
• Aging Infrastructure and Regulatory Changes in Small Water Systems
• Innovative Water Treatment Technologies for Rural Communities: Affordable and Sustainable Solutions

Not sure where your water and sewer system should start?

Send us your last water audit, your plant flow records and whatever system map you have. We will help you turn them into a ranked project list your board and your residents can follow.

Modern Engineering Solutions, McKinney, Texas, with offices in Golden, Colorado and San Jose, California. 525+ projects completed.

Talk to an engineer about your system or call (214) 833-6748.