The Water Supply Protection Specialist endorsement: what it lets you do, and what it does not.

Plenty of journeymen and masters in Texas have been asked to sign off a customer service inspection on a new house or a remodel and found out on the spot that their plumbing license alone does not cover it. That piece of paper belongs to a specific credential: the Water Supply Protection Specialist endorsement. Here is what it lets you do, what it does not, and how you get it, straight from the rules.

What the endorsement actually authorizes

The Texas Occupations Code says a person may not act as a water supply protection specialist unless they hold the endorsement (Occupations Code 1301.357(a)). The board issues it only to a licensed master or journeyman plumber who applies, completes a board approved certification program, and passes the exam (1301.357(b)).

The TSBPE scope rule spells out the work. Under 22 TAC 365.1(g), a journeyman or master with a current endorsement may:

• Perform customer service inspections under the TCEQ public water system rules, 30 TAC 290.46(j).
• Install, service or repair plumbing for the treatment, use and distribution of rainwater, but only under the supervision of a Responsible Master Plumber who also holds a current endorsement, and only on work contracted through that RMP (365.1(g)(2)).

That second point catches people. A master with the endorsement working for a shop whose RMP does not hold it cannot run rainwater work through that shop. The RMP has to carry it too.

What a customer service inspection is, and what it is not

A customer service inspection, or CSI, is a TCEQ requirement on public water systems. The water system has to have one done before it gives continuous service to new construction, on existing service when it has reason to believe cross connections or other contaminant hazards exist, and after any material improvement, correction or addition to private water distribution piping (30 TAC 290.46(j)).

The inspection is narrow. It is limited to finding and preventing cross connections, potential contaminant hazards, and illegal lead materials in the private piping. For lead, the TCEQ limits in 290.46(i) are pipe and fittings over 0.25 percent lead and solder or flux over 0.2 percent lead. If you are signing a CSI, those are the numbers you are signing against.

A CSI is not a plumbing inspection. The TSBPE rule says it plainly: the endorsement "shall not be used in lieu of a Plumbing Inspector License to perform plumbing inspections" (365.1(g)(3)). Holding the endorsement does not let you inspect another contractor's rough in for a city. It lets you do the CSI, and that is all on the inspection side.

Who else can sign a CSI

Under 290.46(j), three kinds of people can perform a CSI: a TSBPE licensed plumbing inspector, a TSBPE licensed water supply protection specialist, and a customer service inspector licensed by TCEQ after an approved course and exam. A plumbing inspector does not need the endorsement to do a CSI (365.1(g)(3)).

So if your shop keeps getting CSI requests from builders and you are sending them to someone else, that is work walking out the door.

How you get it

Per the TSBPE endorsements page, the path is:

• Hold a current Journeyman or Master Plumber license. Plumbing inspectors can hold it too, mainly so they can inspect rainwater work (365.1(e)(2)).
• Finish a 24 hour training program approved by the board before you apply for the exam.
• Apply for and pass the Water Supply Protection Specialist exam through the TSBPE licensing system.
• Get the endorsement issued so it shows on your pocket card.

Check the fees on the TSBPE site when you apply. They change, and they depend on which license the endorsement attaches to.

Keeping it current

The endorsement renews with continuing education like a license. Occupations Code 1301.404 applies the six hour annual requirement to anyone who "holds a license or endorsement," and 22 TAC 365.14(a) gives an endorsement holder twelve months to complete at least six hours for a timely renewal. If an endorsement has been expired less than two years, 365.14(b) requires six hours for each year it was expired.

The practical move is to renew the endorsement on the same cycle as your license and plan the hours together, so one lapse does not take out both.

Paperwork you should not skip

Use the right form. TCEQ's rule calls for a CSI certificate on Form 20699, and any different form needs approval from the TCEQ executive director before use (290.46(j)). Water systems have to keep CSI reports for at least ten years (290.46(f)(3)(E)(iv)). Keep your own copy as well. If a hazard comes up later, that certificate with your name on it is the record of what you saw and when.

If you find a health hazard, the system can terminate service immediately, and service comes back only after the hazard is removed or properly isolated. Your job is to call it the way you see it.

The takeaway

If builders in your area keep asking for CSIs, or you want to touch rainwater harvesting systems, this endorsement is the credential that makes that work legal for you. Check that your RMP holds it too if you plan to do rainwater work, use the TCEQ form, and keep the hours on the same calendar as your license.

All field notes