R70-630. Water Vending Machine, R70. Agriculture and Food, Regulatory Services, Utah Administrative Code

Utah Administrative Code (Current through November 1, 2019)

R70. Agriculture and Food, Regulatory Services

R70-630. Water Vending Machine

R70-630-1. Authority

Latest version.

Promulgated under authority of Title 4, Chapter 5.

R70-630-2. Purpose

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The purpose of these rules is to set forth requirements and controls for vending machines designed to dispense water intended for human consumption to assure:

(1) Consumers using such machines are given appropriate information as to the nature of the vended water;

(2) The quality of the water vended meets acceptable standards for potability; and

(3) The vending equipment is installed, operated, and maintained to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the consuming public.

R70-630-3. Definitions

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For the purpose of this rule, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings indicated:

(1) "Approved" means a water vending machine, drinking water source, backflow prevention device or other devices or services that meets the minimum standards of this rule. Approved does not imply satisfactory performance for a specific period of time. Approval, when required, shall be in writing based upon departmental review of data submitted by the water vending industry, manufacturers, operators, owners or managers.

(2) "Approved material" means materials approved by the department as being free of substances which may render the water injurious to health or which may adversely affect the flavor, color, odor, radiological, microbial, or chemical quality of the water.

(3) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture and Food, Division of Regulatory Services, or its representative.

(4) "Nontoxic" means free of substances which may render the water injurious to health or may adversely affect the flavor, color, odor, chemical or microbial quality of the water.

(5) "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, company, corporation, trustee, association, public body, or private entity engaged in the water vending business.

(6) "Potable water" means water satisfactory for drinking, culinary, and domestic purposes, meeting the quality standards of rule R309-103, under the Department of Environmental Quality, the Division of Drinking Water.

(7) "Purified water" means water produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis, or other method of equal effectiveness that meets the requirements for purified water as described in the 21st Edition of the United States Pharmacopoeia issued by Mack Publishing, Easton, Penn. 18042.

(8) "Sanitize" means the effective bactericidal treatment of clean surfaces of equipment, utensils, and containers by a process that provides enough accumulative heat or concentration of chemicals for sufficient time to reduce the bacterial count, including pathogens, to a safe level.

(9) "Sanitizing solution" means Aqueous solutions described by 21 CFR 178.1010, 2004, for the purpose of sanitizing food or water contact surfaces.

(10) "Vended water" means water that is dispensed by a water vending machine or retail water facility for drinking, culinary, or other purposes involving a likelihood of the water being ingested by humans. Vended water does not include water from a public water system which has not undergone additional treatment as indicated in R70-630-5(4).

(11) "Vending machine" means any self-service device which upon insertion of a coin, coins, paper currency, token, card, or receipt of payment by other means dispenses unit servings of food, either in bulk or in packages without the necessity of replenishing the device between each vending operation.

(12) "Water vending machine" means a vending machine connected to water designed to dispense drinking water, purified and/or other water products. Such machines shall be designed to reduce or remove turbidity, off-taste, odors, to provide disinfectant treatment, and may include processes for dissolved solid reduction or removal.

(13) "Water vending machine operator" means any person who owns, leases, manages, or is otherwise responsible for the operation of a water vending machine.

R70-630-4. Location and Operation

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(1) Each water vending machine shall be located indoors or otherwise protected against tampering and vandalism, and shall be located in an area that can be maintained in a clean condition, and in a manner that avoids insect and rodent harborage.

(2) The floor on which a water vending machine is located shall be smooth and of cleanable construction.

(3) Each water vending machine system shall have an adequate system for collecting and disposing drippage, spillage, and overflow of water to prevent creation of a nuisance.

(a) Where process waste water is collected within the processing unit for pumping or gravity flow to an outside drain, the waste water drain line shall terminate at least two inches above the top rim of the retention vessel within said unit.

(b) The waste line from the water vending machine to an approved drainage system shall be air-gapped.

(c) Containers or drip pans used for the storage or collection of liquid wastes within a vending machine shall be leakproof, readily removable, easily cleanable, and corrosion resistant. In water vending machines which utilize the bottom of the cabinet interior as an internal sump, the sump shall be readily accessible and corrosion resistant. The waste disposal holding tank shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary manner.

(4) Each machine shall have a backflow prevention device for all connections with the water supply source which meets requirements of The International Plumbing Code and its amendment as adopted by the State of Utah Building Codes Commission and shall have no cross connections between the drain and potable water.

(5) Each person who establishes, maintains, or operates any water vending machine in the state, shall first secure a Water Vending Machine Operating Registration issued under Section 4-5-9. The Registration shall be renewed annually.

(6) Application for Registration shall be made in writing and include the location of each water vending machine, the source of the water to be vended, the treatment that the water will receive prior to being vended, and the name of the manufacturer and the model number of each machine.

(7) The source of the water supply shall be an approved public water system as defined under the Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Drinking Water. Upon application for an initial operating Registration, the operator shall submit information which indicates the product being dispensed into the container meets all finished product quality standards applicable to drinking water. When indicated by reason of complaint or illness, the department may require that additional analyses be performed on the source or products of water vending machines.

(8) Each water vending machine shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, free from dust, dirt, and vermin.

(9) Labels or advertisements located on or near water vending machines shall not imply nor describe the vended water as "spring water."

(10) Water vending machine labels or advertisements shall not describe or use other words to imply, on the machine or elsewhere, the water as being "purified water" unless such water conforms to the definition contained in this rule.

(11) Water vending machine labels or advertisements shall not describe, on the machine or elsewhere, the water as having medicinal or health giving properties.

(12) Each water vending machine shall have in a position clearly visible to customers the following information:

(a) Name and address of the operator.

(b) Name of the water supply purveyor.

(d) The method of post-disinfection that is utilized.

(e) A local or toll free number that may be called for further information, problems, or complaints; or the name of the store or building manager can be listed when the machine is located within a business establishment and the establishment manager is responsible for the operation of the machine.

R70-630-5. Construction Requirements

Latest version.

(1) Water vending machines shall comply with the construction and performance standards of the National Sanitation Foundation or National Automatic Merchandising Association. A list of acceptable third party certification groups is available from 8:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. Water vending machines shall be designed and constructed to permit easy cleaning and maintenance of all exterior and interior surfaces and component parts.

(2) Water contact surfaces and parts of the water vending machine shall be of non-toxic, corrosion-resistant, non-absorbent material capable of withstanding repeated cleaning and sanitizing treatment.

(3) Water vending machines shall have a guarded or recessed spout.

(4) Owners, managers, and operators of water vending machines shall ensure that the methods used for treatment of vended water are acceptable to the department. Such acceptable treatment includes distillation, ion-exchange, filtration, ultra-violet light, mineral addition, and reverse osmosis.

(5) Water vending machines shall be equipped to disinfect the vended water by ultra-violet light, ozone, or equally effective methods prior to delivery into the customer's container.

(6) Water vending machines shall be equipped with monitoring devices designed to shut down operation of the machine when the treatment or disinfectant unit fails to properly function.

(7) Water vending machines shall be equipped with a self-closing, tight-fitting door on the vending compartment if the machine is not located in an enclosed building.

(8) Granular activated carbon, if used in the treatment process of vended water, shall comply with the specifications provided by the American Water Works Association for that substance (Standard B604-90).

R70-630-6. Operator Requirements

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(1) Water vending machine operators shall have on file and perform a maintenance program that includes:

(a) Visits for cleaning, sanitizing, and servicing of machines at least every two weeks.

(b) Written servicing instructions.

(d) Technical manuals for the water treatment appurtenances involved.

(2) Parts and surfaces of water vending machines shall be kept clean and maintained by the water vending machine operator. The vending chamber and the vending nozzle shall be cleaned and sanitized each time the machine is serviced. A record of cleaning and maintenance operations shall be kept by the operator for each water vending machine. These records shall be made available to the department's employees upon request.

(3) Water vending machine operators shall ensure that machines are maintained and monitored to dispense water meeting quality standards specified in this rule. Water analysis shall be performed using approved testing procedures set forth in 21 CFR 165, 2004. Each machine's finished product shall be sampled at least once every three months by the operator, to determine total coliform content. However, provided a satisfactory method of post-treatment disinfection is utilized and based on a sustained record of satisfactory total coliform analyses, the department shall allow modification of the three-month sampling requirement as follows:

(a) When three consecutive three-month samples are each found to contain zero coliform colonies per 100 milliliters of the vended water, microbiological sampling intervals shall be extended to a period not exceeding six months. Should a subsequent six-month sample test positive for total coliform, the required sampling frequency shall revert to the three-month frequency until three consecutive samples again test negative for total coliform bacteria.

(b) If any sample collected from a machine is determined to be unsatisfactory, exceeding the zero coliform colonies per 100 milliliter, the machine shall be cleaned, sanitized and resampled immediately. If, after being cleaned and sanitized, the vended product is determined to be positive for coliform, the machine shall be taken out of service until the source of contamination has been located and corrected.

(4) Each water vending machine operator shall take whatever investigative or corrective actions are necessary to assure a potable water is supplied to consumers.

(5) The vended water from each vending machine utilizing silver-impregnated carbon filters in the treatment process shall be sampled once every six months for silver.

(6) All records pertaining to the sampling and analyses shall be retained by the operator for a period of not less than two years. Results of all analyses shall be available for department review upon request.

R70-630-7. Duties and Responsibilities of the Department

Latest version.

(1) The department may collect and analyze samples of vended water when necessary to determine if the vended water meets the standards of potable water.

(2) After considering the source of water and the treatment process provided by the water vending machine, the department shall determine whether the finished product water will or will not meet quality standards as provided under rule R309-103 under the Division of Drinking Water. If it is determined that the water will not meet potable water standards, the Registration to operate a water vending machine shall be denied.

(3) The department will evaluate water vending machines, as well as their locations and support facilities, as often as may be deemed necessary for enforcement of the provisions of this rule.

(4) Water vending machine operators shall allow the department to examine necessary records pertaining to the operation and maintenance of the vending machines and also provide access to the machines for inspection at reasonable hours.

R70-630-8. Enforcement and Penalties

Latest version.

(1) The department shall order a water vending machine operator to discontinue the operation of any water vending machine that represents a threat to the life or health of any person, or whose finished water does not meet the minimum standards provided for in this rule. Such water vending machine shall not be returned to use until such time the department determines that the conditions which caused the discontinuance of operation no longer exist.

(2) The department shall deny a Registration (procedures for Registration denial are stated in R51-2) when it is determined that there has been a substantial failure to comply with the provisions of this rule by which the health or life of the consumers is threatened or impaired, or by which or through which, directly or indirectly, disease is caused. Registration can also be denied or suspended if the water has been adulterated.

R70-630-9. Preemption of Authority to Regulate

Latest version.

The regulation of water vending machines is hereby preempted by the state. No county or municipality may adopt or enforce any ordinance which regulates the licensure or operation of water vending machines, unless the local health department authority in consultation with and approval of UDAF, determine that unique conditions exist within the county which make it more appropriate for the county to regulate the water vending machines in order to protect the health or welfare of the public.