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By: Puente H.B. No. 2914
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requirements and permits for irrigation systems.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 401, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Section 401.005 to read as follows:
Sec. 401.005. IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. (a) To protect the
public health, safety, and welfare, a municipality with a
population of 5,000 or more by ordinance shall require an installer
of an irrigation system to obtain a permit before installing a
system within the territorial limits or extraterritorial
jurisdiction of the municipality.
(b) The ordinance shall include minimum standards and
specifications for designing, installing, and operating irrigation
systems in accordance with Section 1903.0535, Occupations Code, and
any rules adopted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
or its successor agency under that section.
(c) A municipality may employ or contract with a licensed
plumbing inspector or a registered irrigator to enforce the
ordinance.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 1903, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Sections 1903.0535 and 1903.0536 to read as
follows:
Sec. 1903.0535. IRRIGATION SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: NEW
SYSTEMS. (a) Notwithstanding Section 1903.053, an irrigation
system installed on or after January 1, 2007, must meet the
requirements of this section.
(b) An irrigation system must have:
(1) pressure regulation components if the operating
pressure at the sprinkler head, emitter, or watering outlet exceeds
the manufacturer's recommended operating range;
(2) check valves on each sprinkler head if an
elevation differential may cause more than minimal head drainage;
and
(3) adjustable flow controls on zone valves and on the
master valve.
(c) The zone valves and zones of an irrigation system must
be separated based on water use so that areas that have plants with
different watering requirements can be watered independently.
(d) The emission devices within an irrigation system zone
must:
(1) have matched precipitation rates; and
(2) be installed in a manner that meets the needs of
the plant material at maturity.
(e) An irrigation system zone may have more than one type of
emission device.
(f) The sprinkler heads of an irrigation system must be
spaced:
(1) in a manner that provides for a minimum of head to
head coverage; or
(2) according to the manufacturer's recommendation.
(g) An irrigation system must be designed for zero runoff.
The system must be designed so that a sprinkler arc does not pass
across a paved area. The commission may impose requirements
regarding irrigating near sidewalks, bike paths, and other
impervious surfaces.
(h) An irrigation system must have an automatic irrigation
controller capable of dual or multiple programming. The controller
must:
(1) have at least three start times for each
irrigation program;
(2) contain a water budgeting feature;
(3) be programmable to irrigate with a frequency of
every one to seven days; and
(4) have a method to allow rain detection, automatic
delay, and suspension or termination of the irrigation cycle.
(i) An automatic irrigation controller that controls
electrically activated valves must have a rain shut-off switch or
other similarly effective technology installed. The commission may
exempt areas of the state that receive less than 10 inches of annual
average precipitation from this requirement.
(j) An irrigation system for a nonresidential property in an
area of the state where freezing occurs frequently, as determined
by the commission, must have a freeze sensor.
(k) The commission shall set appropriate soil depth
coverage for pipes and valves for freeze protection and for
maintenance and service practices.
(l) An irrigation system for a property other than a
single-family residential property, as defined by the commission,
may not spray water on a median, buffer strip between a sidewalk and
a street or between a sidewalk and a parking lot, or parking lot
island that is less than four feet wide.
(m) An irrigation system for a single-family residential
property, as defined by the commission, may irrigate the area
between a sidewalk and a street in the manner determined by the
commission.
(n) An installer shall provide the owner of an irrigation
system with:
(1) an efficient watering schedule by season or month
based on 80 percent of historic evapotranspiration or an
alternative method determined by the commission; and
(2) any other information as determined by the
commission.
(o) An installer shall offer to provide, and shall provide
on request, the owner of an irrigation system for residential
property with an as-built plan of the irrigation system that shows,
at a minimum, the location of the mainlines, valves, and sprinkler
heads.
(p) An installer shall provide the owner of an irrigation
system for nonresidential property with an as-built plan of the
irrigation system that shows, at a minimum, the location of the
mainlines and valves.
(q) The commission by rule may:
(1) adopt other requirements that the commission
determines would increase the efficiency of an irrigation system;
and
(2) require the use of new advanced technology to
accomplish the purposes of this section.
Sec. 1903.0536. IRRIGATION SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: EXISTING
SYSTEMS. Notwithstanding Section 1903.053, an owner of an
irrigation system installed before January 1, 2007, that has an
automatic irrigation controller that controls electrically
activated valves must have a rain shut-off switch or other
similarly effective technology installed not later than June 1,
2008. The commission may exempt areas of the state that receive
less than 10 inches of annual average precipitation from this
requirement.
SECTION 3. Not later than June 1, 2006, the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality shall adopt the rules necessary to
implement Section 1903.0535, Occupations Code, as added by this
Act, to take effect January 1, 2007.
SECTION 4. Not later than January 1, 2007, a municipality
with a population of 5,000 or more shall adopt an ordinance under
Section 401.005, Local Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.