By:  Wentworth                                                    S.B. No. 1633
	(In the Senate - Filed March 14, 2003; March 20, 2003, read 
first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources; 
April 25, 2003, reported adversely, with favorable Committee 
Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 10, Nays 0; April 25, 2003, 
sent to printer.)


COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1633                                   By:  Lindsay


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT


relating to the installation and use of a water softener or reverse 
osmosis system by an owner of an on-site sewage disposal system.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 366, Health and Safety 
Code, is amended by adding Sections 366.013 and 366.0135 to read as 
follows:
	Sec. 366.013.  INSTALLATION AND USE OF WATER SOFTENERS AND 
REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEMS.  (a)  An owner may install and use a 
household water softener that discharges effluent into an on-site 
sewage disposal system only if the installed water softener:
		(1)  conserves water by design;                                        
		(2)  regenerates using a demand-initiated regeneration 
control device, commonly known as a DIR device; and
		(3)  is clearly labeled as being equipped with a DIR 
device, with the label affixed to the outside of the system so that 
it may be inspected and easily read.
	(b)  The commission shall design and make the label required 
by Subsection (a)(3) available to owners and installers and to the 
Texas Water Quality Association for distribution to owners and 
installers.  The part of the label identifying the system as being 
equipped with a DIR device must be in a font size not smaller than 18 
points.  The commission may charge a nominal fee for the labels and 
shall maintain compliance information on their websites to allow 
owners and installers of household water softeners easy access to 
that information.
	(c)  A water softener without a DIR device installed on an 
on-site sewage disposal system before September 1, 2003, may be 
continued in use until the system is required to be repermitted 
after correction of a system failure or until a replacement water 
softener is installed.  A DIR device is required for a water 
softener installed on and after September 1, 2003, on a new on-site 
sewage disposal system or a replacement water softener installed on 
or after that date on an existing on-site sewage disposal system.
	(d)  A water softener installed on an on-site sewage disposal 
system must be sized, programmed, and calibrated for the most 
efficient operation possible, as determined by a certified water 
treatment specialist, for added protection to the environment and 
for the proper operation of the system.
	(e)  An owner may install and use a point-of-use reverse 
osmosis system that discharges effluent into an on-site sewage 
disposal system.
	(f)  An owner may install and use a whole-house reverse 
osmosis system that discharges effluent into an on-site sewage 
disposal system if the calculated volume of effluent:
		(1)  does not cause hydraulic overloading; or                          
		(2)  has been adequately addressed in the design of the 
on-site sewage disposal system.
	Sec. 366.0135.  EXEMPTION.  The provisions of Section 
366.013 shall apply only to conventional on-site sewage disposal 
systems and may not apply to aerobic on-site sewage disposal 
systems.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.                           



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