Water vending machine operators shall ensure that machines are maintained and

Water vending machine operators shall ensure that machines are maintained and monitored to dispense water meeting quality standards specified in this regulation. Analyses shall be performed by a laboratory certified by the Department to perform microbiological analyses of drinking water. Each machine's finished product shall be sampled at least once every 3 months 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 3-month sampling requirement as follows: When three consecutive 3-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 6-months. Should a subsequent 6-month sample test positive for total coliform, the required sampling frequency shall revert to the 3-month frequency until 3 consecutive samples again test negative for total coliform bacteria. If any sample collected from a machine is determined to be unsatisfactory, 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.