The American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAMPO) have published for public comment, a draft Manual of Recommended Practice for: The Safe Closure and Reopening of Building Water Systems.
You can obtain a copy of the draft Manual at the following location:
Click to access recommended-practice-manual-review-draft-5-20-22-public-input.pdf
Public comments are due by July 15, 2022.
The links below are to the IAPMO website where the draft Manual is posted. Information is provided about submitting public comments:
https://www.iapmo.org/standards-development/iapmo-industry-standards/20-day-public-review
https://www.iapmo.org/group/update/manual-of-recommended-practices-safe-closure-reopening-building-water-systems
The text below is copied from the IAMPO website:
“The manual covers risk management practices for all potable and non-potable water supply systems, water-supplied mechanical systems (cooling towers), wet fire suppression systems, and decorative water feature systems post-construction, during normal operation, when closing, during interruption to normal operation (system shutdown), and reopening all building occupancy types except for single- and two-family residential buildings. It is intended to provide expert guidance on building water system safety and provides sound and effective risk management practices for preparing water systems when buildings must be shut down or put into low use modes, “exercising” building water systems during periods of no or low use and evaluating and preparing water systems for reopening.”
“As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be countless studies that will consider where proactive efforts could have reduced the health-, safety- and economic-related impacts that resulted,” said Christoph Lohr, IAPMO vice president of Strategic Initiatives. “The pandemic also pushed the plumbing and water-related industries to rethink some common practices. In the manual’s case this meant evaluating construction practices. Indeed, society has learned a great deal and we will be better prepared for the next time we need to respond to a similar threat on a global or regional scale, but only if we take the time to capture the recommended practices that are identified and put them into practice.”
