The International
Code Council and the American Society of
Plumbing Engineers both are developing a standard on rainwater catchment
systems that each hopes will be designated a national standard by the
American National Standards Institute. Both initiatives include January
deadlines for either committee applications or public comment.
ICC has
announced a call for Standards Development Committee members to continue its development of an ANSI standard dedicated
to rainwater collection and conveyance systems. The project title ICC 805,
Standard for Rainwater Collection System Design and Installation, began in
April 2011 when ICC filed a PINS (Project Initiation Notification System)
with ANSI.
All applications to serve on the
committee must be received by Jan. 10, 2013. Visit
www.iccsafe.org/cc/Pages/calls.aspx for more information.
The International Green Construction Code was completed and made available for adoption in March
2012. It includes a section on water efficiency and conservation. In the 2012
code development cycle, ICC members and industry stakeholders worked to
develop non-potable water provisions covering sources such as rainwater,
graywater and reclaimed water provisions to support a comprehensive strategy.
These provisions have been added to the 2015 edition of the International Plumbing Code, due
out soon.
Building on these
efforts, ICC said it is continuing to move forward with resources that will facilitate
expanded application of rainwater harvesting systems and ensure the
preservation of health and safety while saving water. ICC Standard 805 will
apply to the design, installation and maintenance of rainwater collection
systems intended to collect, store, treat, distribute and utilize rainwater
for potable and non-potable applications.
Meanwhile,
ASPE is developing what it hopes will be a new national standard to provide
design and installation requirements for rainwater catchment systems. The standard
is being jointly developed by the American Rainwater Catchment Systems
Association and ASPE, with sponsorship support from the International
Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials.
ARCSA/ASPE
63: Rainwater Catchment Systems is
open for public comment until 11:59 p.m. CST on Jan. 18, 2013.
To view the draft standard and submit a comment, visit
www.aspe.org/publicreview.
Rainwater
catchment systems provide an important alternate source of water, and quality
design standards are critical for protecting the health of those who use water
from these installations in potable and non-potable applications, ASPE said in
a statement. ARSCA/ASPE 63 is designed to assist engineers, designers, plumbers,
builders/developers, local government and end users in safely implementing a
rainwater catchment system using precipitation from a rooftop and other hard,
impervious surfaces. It applies to new installations as well as alterations,
additions, maintenance and repairs to existing rainwater catchment
installations. It does not apply to the collection of rainwater from vehicular
parking or other similar surfaces.
ARCSA/ASPE
63 is intended to provide guidance in: how to design, install and maintain a
healthy alternative to municipal water and to optimize rainwater utilization,
while preventing risk to consumers from poor design, installation and
maintenance or illegal work; reducing risk to the public from injury or loss of
amenity due to a failure of the supply, installation, maintenance, or operation
of the rainwater catchment system; and ensuring that the rainwater catchment
system will assist in maintaining and enhancing the quality of the environment
while helping to ensure compliance with the intent of relevant regulations and
local government officials.
Source:
ICC and ASPELinks
