The policy statement is Article 102.1, Water and Sanitation, Title 21 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.

The connection is made by installing a tee and sleeve in the public watermain. Large connections also require a valve and a valve casing in on the service connection as close to the public watermain as possible. Currently the smallest size valve used by DCWASA is 6-inch; therefore, for service connections 6-inch and smaller a tee with 6-inch branch is installed. For connections less than 6-inch a reducer, the size of the connection is used after the valve.

The applicant for a large water connection, who is usually a plumber, is responsible for obtaining all necessary permits from the Plumbing Inspection Branch, Building and Land Regulation Administration, Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). DCRA is responsible for approval and inspection of all the work by the applicant, except for the connection to the public watermain by DCWASA. The applicant is also responsible for all construction work, including excavating around the water main, backfilling the excavation, temporary and permanent repaving of the street.

The applicant will furnish and install the tee, the valve, and reducer (if required) and will furnish the valve casing. DCWASA charges an estimated fee for providing these services for connections 3-inch in diameter and larger. After the work is completed, the job is closed out, all charges are documented and some funds could be returned to the applicant if the project costs less than the estimated cost and conversely an invoice is sent to the applicant if the DCWASA costs exceed the estimated cost.

1. There is no separate application for construction of water connections as such. The request for connection of a water connection is make via an Excavation in Public Space Permit, where one of the steps is the approval or sign-off by DCWASA. When the permit application comes to the Documents and Permits Section (DPS) it is handled as a public space permit. The DPS checks to determine if the applicant has a valid Water and Sewer Availability Certificate. If a valid availability certificate has been filed and if the design of the connection is the same as originally approved by DCWASA the deposit amount is determined and given to the applicant. Once paid the permit application is signed off either by the staff at DPS or by Kevin Cole at the downtown office. If no availability certificate has been filed and no record of the project being reviewed in DPS can be found the applicant is notified to produce a valid availability certificate or the necessary drawing and documents required to secure an availability certificate. After the availability certificate is issued and the deposit made the permit application is signed-off by the DPS.
2. When the work is completed, DWS signs off the original work order as project completed.