Department of
Environmental Quality

DEQ, the Idaho Bureau of Occupational Licenses (IBOL), and public drinking water system owners have different and distinct responsibilities regarding drinking water system classification and operator licensing.

• DEQ is responsible for determining system classifications and for ensuring that all community and nontransient noncommunity public drinking water systems and all public surface water systems are supervised by an appropriately licensed "responsible charge operator" and licensed operating personnel.
• IBOL is an umbrella agency that contracts with the state’s professional and occupational licensing boards to ensure personnel are appropriately trained and licensed. In the case of drinking water, IBOL contracts with the Idaho Board of Drinking Water and Wastewater Professionals for these services. The board is responsible for establishing requirements for operator licenses, determining education and continuing education requirements, setting fees, reviewing applications, and issuing licenses.
• System owners are responsible for reporting to DEQ on the current classification status every five years or anytime a substantive change or upgrade is made to the treatment or distribution system. It is also the system owner's responsibility to ensure that the responsible charge operator and the substitute responsible charge operator have the appropriate level of licensing that is equal to or greater than the system's classification.

Classification Requirements

All community and nontransient noncommunity public drinking water systems and distribution facilities must be classified based on indicators of potential health risk including the treatment system's complexity, size, and source water or the distribution system's complexity and size. Learn more about system classification requirements and access a worksheet for calculating system classification.

Supervision Requirements

Owners of all public drinking water systems (except transient systems served by ground water) in Idaho are required to have a "responsible charge operator" and a "substitute responsible charge operator" licensed at a type and class equal to or greater than the classification of the system. Learn how to meet the licensed operator requirement and access a database of contract operators for hire.

Operator Resources

Interested in becoming a licensed drinking water operator? Access links to the IBOL website to learn more about operating otraining requirements, licensing requirements and fees, and to apply for an operator license.