Questions and answers

The questions people ask before they sign up and in the first few weeks after. If yours is not here, write to us.

Getting started

What is a PWSID and where do I find it?

The Public Water System ID is the number the state and the EPA use for your system: two letters for the state and seven digits, like TX0610001. It is printed on every letter TCEQ has sent you, on your monitoring schedule, and on your sample results. If you have none of those handy, the lookup takes a PWSID, so try any old notice, or write to us with the system name and county and we will find it.

Is it free?

Yes, while Well Run Water is in beta. Creating an account takes an email address and a password. There is no card and no contract.

How do I add a system?

Enter the PWSID. We look it up in the EPA's public file and show you what we found, name, county, population, type, source, before anything is saved. Confirm it and the system is in your account with those details filled in.

Can I add a system without a PWSID?

Yes. On the add-a-system page choose to enter the details by hand. That is the path for a system too new to be in the EPA file yet, or for a private system that has never had one. You can add the PWSID later and nothing else changes.

What is the calendar based on?

When you add a system we propose the usual set of tasks for a system of that type and source in Texas, chlorinated or not: the routine samples, the reports, the inspections, the renewals. You uncheck what does not apply, set the dates you know, and save. The calendar and the task list are built from that, and from any task you add yourself.

The proposed list is a starting point, not a reading of your file with the state. The EPA's data tells us what kind of system you are; it does not carry your monitoring frequencies.

Does this replace my TCEQ monitoring schedule?

No. Your primacy agency, TCEQ in Texas, sets what your system owes and how often, and their schedule is the authority. Well Run Water is where that schedule gets written down in one place and checked off. If your TCEQ schedule and your calendar here disagree, the state is right; change the calendar to match.

Your calendar and tasks

What happens when I mark a task done?

We record the date it was done, which defaults to today and can be set earlier for work logged after the fact, the name of the person who recorded it, and a note if you write one. The task shows as done on the calendar, in the task list, and in the month at a glance page. If you marked the wrong one, reopen it from the same panel.

Can I correct a note?

Not in place. Notes are a record, so they stay as written, with who wrote them and when. To correct one, add another note saying what was wrong. The next person to read the task sees both, which is what an inspector or a successor would want.

What about a task that does not apply to my system?

If it never applies, take it off the schedule from the system's schedule page and no more occurrences will be added. If it just does not apply this once, skip it with a reason. The skip and the reason stay on the record like a note would.

How do I archive a system?

An account admin archives a system from its system page. An archived system leaves the systems list and the calendar navigation and stops getting new tasks added, but nothing about it is deleted: the calendar, the task history, and every note stay as they were. It sits in an Archived section on the Systems page, and restoring it from there puts it back the way it was.

Archive a system you have stopped operating, or one that was sold. If the new owner wants the history, see transferring a system instead.

Accounts and people

How do I invite my operator, or my board?

From the Account page, an owner or admin enters an email address and picks a role. An admin can do everything on every system in the account. A member can complete tasks and write notes on the systems you give them. A viewer can read the calendar, tasks, and notes on the systems you give them and change nothing. The person gets an email with a link, sets a password, and is in.

That covers the usual cases: the contract operator who does the work, the board member who wants to see it was done, the clerk who keeps the file.

Can two accounts track the same system?

Yes. An owner and their contract operator can each add the same PWSID to their own accounts, and each keeps their own calendar and notes. Nobody claims a system exclusively. If you would rather share one calendar, invite the other party into your account instead.

How do I transfer a system to another account?

There is no transfer button. Write to hello@wellrunwater.com from the account that currently holds the system, and tell us the system (name or PWSID) and the email address on the account that should receive it. We confirm with both sides before moving anything. When it moves, the calendar, the task history, and the notes go with it; nothing is lost on either end.

This is the right path when a system changes hands, or when an operator set it up and the owner wants to hold it going forward.

How do I close my account?

Write to hello@wellrunwater.com from the owner's email address and ask. We will delete the account and its data, or send you an export first if you want one, and confirm when it is done.

Data and privacy

Where does the system data come from, and how often is it refreshed?

From the EPA's public Safe Drinking Water Information System file, published quarterly. We load each quarter's file and every lookup card says which quarter it came from and when the file was built. Because it is a snapshot, something shown open may already be resolved with the state, and a system new this quarter can take a quarter to appear. When we see the file is wrong about your system, tell us and we will pass it along.

What does "open item" mean on the lookup?

A violation the EPA file lists as not yet returned to compliance as of that quarter. Most are monitoring and reporting: a sample not taken on time, or a report that arrived late. Those are counted separately from health-based ones, which are about the water itself. The card is public data as of a date, not a compliance determination; the state's own records are current.

Who can see my data?

The people in your account, on the systems they are given. Our staff can see your account details, users, and systems in order to help you; they do not read your tasks or notes. Nobody else, apart from the companies that host the software and deliver its email. The system details on the public lookup are the EPA's public data, not anything you entered, and the contact details the EPA has on file are never shown to anyone. The privacy page has the full list of what we store.

How do I reach a person?

Email hello@wellrunwater.com. A person reads every message and answers it. Include the system name or PWSID if the question is about a particular system.