Authority: IC 13-14-8; IC 13-14-9; IC 13-15-1-2; IC 13-15-2-1; IC 13-18-3-1; IC 13-18-4-1

Affected: IC 13-11-2; IC 13-13-5-1; IC 13-18-2

Sec. 4. (a) All school buildings and related facilities must be supplied with safe, potable water from an approved source and water distribution system.

(b) The drinking water for school buildings and related facilities must be supplied at the flow rate and pressure required by 327 IAC 8-3.2-11, at the quality required by 327 IAC 8-2.7, and in accordance with the following:

(1) The water supply and water distribution system must be sized and constructed to deliver water at twenty (20) pounds per square inch minimum pressure to all fixtures and appurtenances during periods of peak water demand.

(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (1), school buildings may be served by hand-operated well pumps where religious custom precludes using electrically or gasoline driven well pumps providing the well and well pump are located and constructed in compliance with this rule.

(c) A connection to a PWS must be made with its potable water used exclusively wherever the system is available or becomes available within a reasonable distance from the school facility, with the exception that nonpotable sources of water are available and may be utilized for the following nonpotable activities:

(1) Lawn sprinkling.

(2) Bus washing.

(3) Firefighting.

(4) Other nonpotable uses provided by a nonpotable distribution system having no connection to the potable system.

(d) Where a community PWS is not available, a properly located and constructed private water supply must be provided. Beginning on May 1, 1999, all new and modified PWSs exclusively serving schools and related facilities must be equipped with a backup system capable of providing drinking water in accordance with subsection (b).

(e) Well pumps, pressure tanks, storage tanks, treatment facilities, and piping must be sized to meet peak daily consumer demands. The minimum usable capacity of the pressure tank, in gallons, must be three (3) times the installed well pump capacity in gallons per minute. If the well or pump cannot meet peak demands, sufficient additional usable storage capacity must be provided to meet peak demands.

(f) Each school building or addition to a school building may have a potable water supply where necessary to provide adequate service. However, where at least two (2) school potable water supply systems are located on the same site, the water supply systems must be sufficiently interconnected to allow for the maximum possible utilization of each should a system fail.

(g) Unless lower water system demands can be documented to the satisfaction of the commissioner, all school buildings and additions to school buildings constructed after February 17, 1985, must have a water supply system capable of furnishing at least:

(1) fifteen (15) gallons per day, per student, up through the elementary grades;

(2) twenty-five (25) gallons per day, per student, in grades greater than elementary; and

(3) one hundred (100) gallons per day, per dormitory bed, based on maximum building occupancy.

(Water Pollution Control Division; 327 IAC 8-3.3-4; filed Mar 31, 1999, 1:50 p.m.: 22 IR 2511; errata filed Aug 30, 1999, 12:06 p.m.: 23 IR 25; readopted filed Jan 10, 2001, 3:23 p.m.: 24 IR 1518; filed Apr 24, 2006, 3:00 p.m.: 29 IR 2958; readopted filed Nov 21, 2007, 1:16 p.m.: 20071219-IR-327070553BFA; readopted filed Jul 29, 2013, 9:21 a.m.: 20130828-IR-327130176BFA; readopted filed Jun 14, 2019, 1:59 p.m.: 20190710-IR-327190246BFA; readopted filed Oct 18, 2024, 1:57 p.m.: 20241113-IR-327230810RFA; filed Nov 24, 2025, 9:07 a.m.: 20251224-IR-327240428FRA)