Chapter 300 — Buildings, Article 3 — Water Efficiency Code Requirements

Amended Chapters and Sections of the Georgia State Minimum Standard Plumbing Code The following chapters and sections of the 2018 International Plumbing Code (IPC) are included in the local amendment:

Definitions Chapter 2, Section 202 General Definitions of the 2018 International Plumbing Code is amended by adding in alphabetical order and revising, as applicable, the following definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Commercial building. Any type pf building other than residential.

Kitchen Faucet or Kitchen Faucet Replacement Aerator. Allows a flow of no more than 1.8 gallons of water per minute at a pressure of 60 pounds per square inch and conforms to the applicable requirements in ASME A112.18.1/CSA B125.1.

Landscape Irrigation.

Flow sensor. An inline device in a landscape irrigation system that produces a repeatable signal proportional to flow rate.

Lawn or Landscape Irrigation system. An assembly of component parts that is permanently installed for the controlled distribution of water to irrigate landscapes such as ground cover, trees, shrubs, and other plants. Lawn and Landscape Irrigation System refer to the same system.

Master shut-off valve. An automatic valve such as a gate valve, ball valve, or butterfly valve) installed as part of the landscape irrigation system capable of being automatically closed by the WaterSense controller. When this valve is closed water will not be supplied to the landscape irrigation system.

Pressure regulating device. A device designed to maintain pressure within the landscape irrigation system at the manufacturer’s recommended operating pressure and that protects against sudden spikes or drops from the water source.

Rain sensor shut-off. An electric device that detects and measures rainfall amounts and overrides the cycle of a landscape irrigation system so as to turn off such system when a predetermined amount of rain has fallen.

WaterSense irrigation controller. Is a weather-based or soil moisture-based irrigation controllers labeled under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program, which includes standalone controllers, add-on devices, and plug-in devices that use current weather data as a basis for scheduling irrigation.

WaterSense spray sprinkler bodies. A sprinkler body with integral pressure regulation, generating optimal water spray and coverage labeled under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program.

Lavatory Faucet or Lavatory Faucet Replacement Aerator. Allows a flow of no more than 1.2 gallons of water per minute at a pressure of 60 pounds per square inch and is listed to the WaterSense High Efficiency Lavatory Faucet Specification.

Residential building. Any building or unit of a building intended for occupancy as a dwelling but shall not include a hotel or motel.

Sec. 303-4. Maximum Flow and Water Consumption Shower head. A shower head that allows a flow of no more than the average of 2.0 gallons of water per minute at 80 pounds per square inch of pressure, is listed in the WaterSense Specification for Showerheads, and meets the US Department of Energy definition of showerhead.

Maximum Flow and Water Consumption Chapter 6, Section 604.4 Maximum Flow and Water Consumption of the 2018 International Plumbing Code revised to read as follows:

Consistent with the general approach taken in Georgia, these Maximum Flow and Water Consumption requirements and related definitions in Section 604.4 of the plumbing code shall apply to all plumbing systems, including those in one- and two-family dwellings. The maximum water consumption flow rates and quantities for all plumbing fixtures and fixture fittings shall be in accordance with Table 604.4.

per flushing cycle.

OR FIXTURE FITTING OR QUANTITYb Lavatory faucet and WaterSense Labeled & replacement aerators, private 1.2 gpm at 60 psif Lavatory faucet, public 0.25 gallon per metering cycle (metering)

Lavatory, public 0.5 gpm at 60 psi (other than metering)

Showerheada WaterSense Labeled & 2.0 gpm at 80 psif Kitchen faucet and replacement 1.8 gpm at 60 psif, g aerators Urinal 0.5 gallon per flushing cyclef Water closet 1.28 gallons per flushing cyclec, d, e, f Sec. 303-4. Maximum Flow and Water Consumption Table footnotes:

For SI: 1 gallon = 3.785 L, 1 gallon per minute = 3.785 L/m, 1 pound per square inch = 6.895 kPa.

Residential clothes washers shall be in accordance with the Energy Star program requirements.

Once-through cooling using potable water is prohibited.

Cooling towers and evaporative coolers shall be equipped with makeup water and blow down meters, conductivity controllers and overflow alarms.

Cooling towers shall be equipped with efficiency drift eliminators that achieve drift reduction to 0.002 percent of the circulated water volume for counterflow towers and 0.005 percent for crossflow towers.

Water used for air conditioning, cooling towers shall not be discharged where the hardness of the basin water is less than 1500 mg/L. Exception: Where any of the following conditions of the basin water are present: total suspended solids exceed 25 ppm, CaCO3 exceeds 600 ppm, chlorides exceed 250 ppm, sulfates exceed 250 ppm, or silica exceeds 150 ppm.

The requirements in Section 604.4.3 apply to all new landscape irrigation systems connected to the public water system except those (a) used for agricultural operations as defined in the Official Code of Georgia Section 1-3-3, (b) used for golf courses, Sec. 303-4. Maximum Flow and Water Consumption and (c) dependent upon a nonpublic water source. Nothing in this Code or this Section 604.4.3 is intended to require that landscape irrigation systems must be installed at all premises. The landscape irrigation efficiency requirements in this Section 604.4.3 apply only when someone voluntarily chooses, or is otherwise required by some requirement beyond this Code, to install a landscape irrigation system on premises.

All new landscape irrigation systems shall adhere to the following design standards:

All new landscape irrigation systems shall include the following components:

Sec. 303-5. Nonpotable Water Systems

Nonpotable Water Systems Chapter 13 Nonpotable Water Systems, Section 1304 Reclaimed Water Systems of the 2018 International Plumbing Code is revised to read as follows:

treatment system permitted by the Environmental Protection Division may be used to supply water closets, urinals, trap primers for floor drains and floor sinks, water features and other uses approved by the Authority Having Jurisdiction, in motels, hotels, apartment and condominium buildings, and commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings, where the individual guest or occupant does not have access to plumbing. Also, other systems that may use a lesser quality of water than potable water such as water chillers, carwashes or an industrial process may be supplied with reclaimed water provided from a reclaimed wastewater treatment facility permitted by the Environmental Protection Division.

The use of reclaimed water sourced from any new private reclaimed wastewater treatment system for outdoor irrigation shall be limited to golf courses and agriculture operations as defined in the Official Code of Georgia Section 1-3-3, and such reclaimed water shall not be approved for use for irrigating any other outdoor landscape such as ground cover, tree, shrubs, or other plants. These limitations do not apply to reclaimed water sourced from existing private reclaimed water systems or from existing or new, governmentally-owned reclaimed wastewater treatment systems.

Appendix E, Section E101.1.2. Because of the variable conditions encountered in hydraulic design, it is impractical to specify definite and detailed rules for sizing of the water piping system. Accordingly, other sizing or design methods conforming to good engineering practice standards are acceptable alternatives to those presented herein.

Without limiting the foregoing, such acceptable design methods may include for multi-family buildings the Peak Water Demand Calculator from the IAPMO/ANSI 2020 Water Efficiency and Sanitation Standard for the Built Environment, which accounts for the demands of water-conserving plumbing fixtures, fixture fittings, and appliances. If future versions of the Peak Water Demand Calculator including other building types, such as commercial, such updated version shall be an acceptable design method.

Violation; Citation, Penalty A citation for a violation of this article may be issued by the Building Official or their authorized representative. Any person violating this article will be tried before the municipal court. Upon conviction, such person found guilty of a violation of this article will be punished as provided in Sec. 1-11 of the Snellville Code of Ordinances.

Compliance and Enforcement

303-3 will be determined by the chief Building Official or their agent in cases of new or Sec. 303-7. Compliance and Enforcement replacement plumbing fixture installations, and compliance will be a condition for receipt of any occupancy permit.

Sec. 304-1. General Chapter 300. Buildings Article 4. Property Maintenance