News & Events
Flow Rate Requirements Reduced By Wis. Department of Commerce
The Wisconsin Department of Commerce recently issues a document outlining the reduction in the flow rate requirement for water treatment equipment in single family dwellings. On August 6, the DOC issues the document that outlines specifics when converting water supply fixture units to gallons per minute in single family homes. The document was in response to the Water Quality Association of Wisconsin's effort to get the Wisconsin DOC to reconsider current flow rate/pressure rate requirements. The WQAW's application asked that a maximum of 7 gpm be used for an f.s.u. count of 40 or less on individual residences.
Numerous WQAW members contributed to a study which covered 1,188 typical residential households in the U.S. and Canada. The study showed that peak water flows rarely exceed 12 gallons per minute (gpm), a "maximum of 3.5 minutes once every 400 days (1.14 years)."
Wisconsin's DOC agreed to reassess the State Plumbing Code provisions regarding home water treatment equipment sizing in light of the study's findings, but asked for additional analyses of flows in 60 of the original homes selected by the DOC from the larger water users.
A complete copy of the document is available by contacting the WQAW office at (608) 286-0765.