Over the past seven years, the water treatment industry has been working closely with ASSE International and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) to develop product standards. Prior to this work, there were several technologies being marketed that didn’t have access to a corresponding performance and safety standard. Water treatment standards are intended to evaluate products for material safety, structural integrity, pressure drop characteristics, and the removal of contaminants and substances that can be harmful for human consumption, or aesthetically unpleasing. Therefore, it is crucial that performance and testing requirements are evaluated to acceptable consensus standards.
The Code
The 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code® (UPC) requires that water treatment units comply with the applicable ASSE International, IAPMO, and NSF International standards. For example, alkaline water treatment devices must comply with IAPMO IGC 322 (Alkaline Water – Drinking Water Treatment Units), scale reduction devices must comply with IAPMO Z601 (Scale Reduction Devices), and Table 611.1 lists various NSF and ASSE standards that are used to evaluate point of use, point of entry, and commercial water treatment equipment. One common standard that is applicable to all the various types of commercial systems is ASSE 1087, Performance Requirements for Commercial and Food Service Water Treatment Equipment Utilizing Drinking Water. Table 611.1 of the UPC states that any water treatment unit used in a commercial building fall under ASSE 1087.
Section 1.2.1 of ASSE 1087 states that:
Plumbed water treatment units include any device or component, point-of-entry and point-of-use, that is used in a building to improve the quality of the water. This standard covers all water treatment products that are connected to the building’s potable water plumbing system. This standard is not intended to cover water treatment products used for process water or wastewater applications. Examples of water treatment equipment include deionizers, filters, softeners, reverse osmosis assemblies, ultraviolet systems, ozone systems, and distillers.
Standards Development
ASSE’s standards are developed via an open consensus process and approved by the ASSE Product Standards Committee. ASSE standards go through a rigorous development process that focuses on protecting the public. ASSE is constantly addressing the needs of the industry with the creation of their performance-based standards such as ASSE 1087, ASSE 1090 (Drinking Water Atmospheric Water Generators), and ASSE 1086 (Reverse Osmosis Water Efficiency – Drinking Water).
For a list of ASSE’s water treatment standards, along with more information about each standard’s scope, please see Terry Burger’s Product Standards column.
IAPMO’s national standards are similarly developed via an open consensus process and approved by the respective standards committee. Below is a list of IAPMO water treatment standards that are currently published:
IAPMO IGC 322 (Alkaline Water) and IAPMO Z601 (Scale Reduction)
Two standards that were added to the 2021 UPC are the IAPMO Z601 for scale reduction and IAPMO IGC 322 for alkaline water.
There is a health trend in the market for drinking alkaline water (water with a pH above 7.0). There are many claimed health benefits, including neutralizing stomach acid and increasing oxygen levels in the blood. These water treatment products have not had any formal procedures for ensuring their claims of effectiveness with regard to the level of alkalinity. Note that the goal is not to make health claims regarding positive health benefits, only that the products dispense alkaline water for safe consumption, resulting in nondetrimental effects to health. IAPMO IGC 322 gives the output performance requirements for flow rate and oxidation reduction potential at given pH levels.
The IAPMO Z601 standard gives the performance criteria for any scale reduction device intended for tank-type and tankless water heaters, as well as ion exchangers. It covers material safety, structural integrity, and various safety requirements. Products are being installed in plumbing systems that have not been tested for scale reduction performance or safety. IAPMO Z601 fills that gap, ensuring products being installed will perform as marketed and meet minimum standard requirements for health and safety.
IGC 324 (IAPMO Z1324) Alternate Water Source System for Multi-Family and Commercial Use
Another standard that stands out is the IAPMO IGC 324 (or IAPMO/ANSI Z1324) for alternate water source systems for multi-family, residential, and commercial use. It covers alternate water source systems intended to process water from alternate water sources such as greywater, rainwater, atmospheric generated water, and air conditioning condensate, for use in subsurface and/or surface irrigation and toilet/urinal flushing applications. There are many installation requirements for rainwater catchment systems, such as Chapter 15 of the UPC for nonpotable applications and Appendix K for potable water applications; the IAPMO IGC 324 can be used to evaluate the products used for such applications.
The IAPMO IGC 324 standard utilizes the log reduction method approach, which is essential for areas where drought is an issue, such as California. The standard has log reduction values for pathogens that can be used to evaluate these systems. It also provides guidelines for scalability as a reasonable and verifiable method that helps ensures public safety. It is recognized by the 2020 Water Efficiency and Sanitation Standard (WE-Stand) and accepted by various jurisdictions The 2020 WE-Stand requires IAPMO IGC 324 for onsite stormwater treatment systems as a monitoring parameter for turbidity, oxidation reduction potential (ORP), and ultraviolet (UV) intensity.
Get Involved
To keep standards updated, ASSE and IAPMO are continuously looking for experts to participate in their working groups.
For a list of open ASSE working groups, please visit https://www.asse-plumbing.org/asse/standards/working-groups. Please send your completed applications to Terry Burger at terry.burger@
asse-plumbing.org.
If you are looking to get involved in IAPMO standards development, please send an email to standards@iapmostandards.org to learn how to get involved.
