Words used

These are the terms this book leans on, in short form, each with the chapter where it matters. The legal meaning is in the statute or rule the chapter quotes.

811

The number to call before digging, which reaches the state's notification center. Your own private line will not be marked. Chapter 13.

Abandoned well

In Texas law, roughly a well not in use, with listed exceptions such as one in good condition and capped. An owner has 180 days to act after learning of it. Chapter 11.

Action level

The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements. It appears in water reports. Chapter 4.

Aerobic treatment unit

A septic system that adds air to treat sewage, usually paired with a spray field. It carries maintenance duties a conventional tank does not. Chapter 25.

Air gap

Open air between a water outlet and the water it fills, so nothing can siphon back. Lamar County WSD requires one at livestock troughs. Chapter 17.

Authorized agent

A local government body TCEQ has delegated to run septic permits. All nine counties in this book have one listed. Chapter 22.

Backflow

Water running the wrong way, from a house, trough or tank back into the supply. Chapter 17.

Blossom aquifer

A minor aquifer in Bowie, Red River and Lamar counties, with water TWDB calls generally soft. Chapter 5.

Boil-water notice

A notice from a public water system that its water may be unsafe to drink without boiling. It lasts until the system rescinds it. Chapter 30.

Casing

The watertight pipe lining a well. A licensed contractor should repair a broken one. Chapter 6.

CCN

Certificate of convenience and necessity. It gives a water provider a certified area, with a duty to serve consumers inside it. Chapter 2.

Coliform bacteria

A common group of bacteria used as a warning sign in well tests. Their presence alone does not prove contact with waste. Chapter 8.

Confined space

A space such as a septic tank or well that may hold toxic gas or lack oxygen. Stay out of them. Chapter 26.

Consumer confidence report

The yearly water quality report a community water system must give its customers. Chapter 4.

Cross-connection

A physical link between safe drinking water and anything that could contaminate it, including a private well. Chapter 17.

Curb stop

The supplier's valve at the meter. Lamar County WSD's rules prohibit customers using it as their shutoff. Chapter 12.

Customer service inspection

A check for cross-connections, contaminant hazards and illegal lead materials, required at certain times on public systems. It is not a plumbing inspection. Chapter 17.

Deteriorated well

A well that will cause, or is likely to cause, pollution of water in the state. Chapter 11.

Drain field

The buried part of a standard septic system where liquid soaks into the soil. AgriLife says a standard one does not suit clay. Chapter 24.

Drought contingency plan

A retail water supplier's plan for cutting non-essential use in stages during a shortage or outage. Chapter 2.

E. coli

A bacterium whose presence, AgriLife says, definitely indicates contact with human or animal waste. Chapter 8.

Expansive soil

Clay that swells when wet and shrinks when dry. Much of Lamar and Delta counties has it. Chapter 14.

Groundwater conservation district

A local body that manages groundwater where one exists. Red River GCD covers Grayson and Fannin; Lamar shows none on the map this book used. Chapter 5.

Hardness

The calcium and magnesium in water, in mg/L as calcium carbonate. On the USGS scale 0 to 60 is soft and over 180 very hard. It varies by source here. Chapter 20.

Homestead

The word in the state's plumbing exemption for an owner's own home. Section 1301.051 does not define it. Chapter 31.

Hose bib

An outdoor faucet on a wall, and one of the first things to freeze. Chapter 28.

MCL

Maximum contaminant level: the highest permissible level of a contaminant in drinking water. Chapter 4.

MCLG

The level below which there is no known or expected health risk. It can sit below the MCL. Chapter 4.

Nacatoch aquifer

A narrow band of aquifer across northeast Texas, typically soft and high in sodium bicarbonate, and saline south of the Mexia-Talco Fault Zone. Chapter 5.

OSSF

On-site sewage facility, the rule book's name for a septic system. It needs a permit under Texas law, with some listed exceptions. Chapter 22.

Plugging report

The report owed to the state within 30 days after a well is plugged. Chapter 11.

Pressure tank

The tank that holds water under pressure so a small demand does not start the pump each time. Chapter 10.

Rescind notice

The notice from a public water system that cancels a boil-water notice. Chapter 30.

Responsible master plumber

The master plumber named as responsible for a plumbing business's work. Ask who it is on a larger job. Chapter 34.

Riser

A pipe or shaft that brings a septic tank's opening up to the surface, under a secured lid. Lids stay closed and secure. Chapter 25.

Rule of capture

The Texas rule that lets a landowner pump available groundwater regardless of the effect on a neighbor's well, with limits set by courts. Chapter 5.

Service line

The line from the meter to where the water is used. Who owns it depends on your supplier's rules. Chapter 12.

Shock chlorination

Disinfecting a well and its plumbing with a measured dose of bleach. AgriLife publications differ on the details, so follow current instructions. Chapter 8.

Site evaluation

The soil and site study required before a septic system goes in, done by a licensed site evaluator or professional engineer. Chapter 23.

Soil Class IV

The septic rules' class for silty clay and clay soils. Standard drain fields are listed as unsuitable there, with exceptions. Chapter 24.

Special utility district

A government water district under Water Code chapter 65, unlike a nonprofit water supply corporation. Chapter 2.

Spray field

The area of lawn where an aerobic system sprays treated water. That water may still hold harmful pathogens. Chapter 25.

Static water level

The depth to water in a well when the pump is not running. Well disinfection tables use it. Chapter 8.

Tap fee

The charge for connecting to a water system, set in its tariff. An applicant may appeal it to the PUC within a set time. Chapter 3.

Tariff

A water system's filed rules and rates. For a water supply corporation or district, it decides most questions about your line. Chapter 12.

Trinity aquifer

A major aquifer, "very hard in the outcrop" according to TWDB. Modeled supply for Lamar County is small. Chapter 5.

Water supply corporation

A nonprofit, member-owned water or sewer provider under Water Code chapter 67. Chapter 2.

Well log

The driller's record of strata and casing, due to the state and owner within 60 days. Chapter 6.

Woodbine aquifer

A minor aquifer in northeast Texas lying over the Trinity. Its upper zone tends to be very high in iron. Chapter 5.