Non HI related water pressure question

[esch]

I'm trying to find either an Oklahoma or national health/safety law or some kind of information about required water pressure, possibly for rentals.

If I can find some information the city might help me with my problem, but I am having trouble finding anything relative.

I've got 36 rentals and they have 17 pounds of pressure.

It's a real turn off for trying to rent, and the system is a gravity fed with the tanks only being about 10-15 foot above the hill the rental complex is on.

I have considered some form of booster pump etc, except its on 7 different meters so that would get a tad expensive.

The city said my 2" water meters come off of a 6" main line directly and theres nothing they can do because to raise one tower means to raise them all as thier interconnected. The suggested some kinda of well system but they said it would be 2-3 thousand.... per meter for material alone.

Any other ideas about a fix to my problem I would appreciate it, I have 7 meters and a decent amount of room to do it but nothing huge due to main gas water and sewer line run through the complex near the meters.

Thanks, Matt

What's the lowest water pressure yall have seen in a house?

[kurt]

About 17 psi.....

Install a booster pump with a huge bladder tank for a reservoir.

[Jim Katen]

2006 IRC sez:

P2903.3 Minimum pressure. Minimum static pressure (as determined by the local water authority) at the building entrance for either public or private water service shall be 40 psi (276 kPa).

2006 UPC is way more liberal:

608.1 Inadequate Water Pressure. Whenever the water pressure in the main or other source of supply will not provide a residual water pressure of at least fifteen pounds per square inch, after allowing for friction and other pressure losses, a tank an a pump or other means that will provide said fifteen pound pressure shall be installed. Whenever fixtures and/or fixture fittings are installed that require residual pressure higher than fifteen pounds per square inch, that minimum residual pressure shall be provided.

I don't know if Oklahoma gives a rip about the IRC or the UPC though.

17 psi sucks. Things like dishwashers & ice makers won't work properly, to say nothing of shower heads.

Booster pumps are notoriously short lived. A well pump/pressure tank set up might work better, but you need to make sure that the water supply can keep up with the flow of the pump, otherwise it cavitates and self destructs.

If you have 36 units, you might want to consider installing your own pump/pressure tank set up to serve all of them. You'd almost certainly need a storage tank to act as a reservoir to serve the pump.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Bill Kibbel]

Per the IRC, the minimum static pressure, at the point where the service enters the building, should be a minimum of 40 psi. I would be insisting that the water authority is responsible for supplying that minimum pressure.

[Richard Moore]

It looks like the state of Oklahoma uses the IPC, not IRC or UPC. I only have an old 2000 version but it reads like it is more the responsibility of the building owner to provide adequate pressure, rather than the muni. Similar to the UPC code that Jim posted but a bit different in that it refers to a table of individual fixture type requirements.

[Jim Katen]

It looks like the state of Oklahoma uses the IPC, not IRC or UPC. I only have an old 2000 version but it reads like it is more the responsibility of the building owner to provide adequate pressure, rather than the muni. Similar to the UPC code that Jim posted but a bit different in that it refers to a table of individual fixture type requirements.

2006 IPC sez:

604.7 Inadequate water pressure. Wherever water pressure from the street main or other source of supply is insufficient to provide flow pressures at fixture outlets as required under Table 604.3, a water pressure booster system conforming to Section 606.5 shall be installed on the building water supply system.

[Bill Kibbel]

The city of Tahlequah, Ok has adopted the IRC.

[kurt]

I misstated my pump recommendation; I said booster, which is our local slang for a well pump because we don't have any wells. Jim was correct in stating a well pump.

We have them on a lot of apartment buildings in the city. They work fine if there's adequate supply. Problem on your end is the capacity of your well. If it can't keep up, pumps and expansion won't work.

If you got a monster bladder tank, it could still work, but if and when you ran out the bladder tank, the whole shebang would peter out to nothing.

[Chad Fabry]

If it was me, I'd store a thousand gallons or so in a regular storage tank, submerge a potent submersible pump that fed a nice bank of pressure tanks. That way even if demand exceeded the replenishment rate the large buffer would prevent the low pressure switch from kicking the pump off due to cavitation.

It'd take a 5-7 hp submersible and there should be at least 100 gallons (between pump cycles... that'd likely require 300 gallons capacity) of reserve at the desired pressure to prevent pump short cycling.

Any solution that will work well is going to cost 3-5 grand just for materials.

[Richard Moore]

The city of Tahlequah, Ok has adopted the IRC.

...but also the IPC for plumbing. From the city permit website at http://www.cityoftahlequah.com/permits/ ... l_info.htm

The Following is Required of All Types of Construction

1. You must meet all building and zoning codes of the City of Tahlequah:

Property must be zoned properly

You must have a building permit before any dirt work or construction may begin

All mechanical, plumbing, and electrical contractors must be licensed with the City of Tahlequah

You must have the water, sewer, electric, and mechanical inspected during all phases of construction

2. The following codes must be adhered to:

2000 NFPA Life Safety Code

2005 N.E.C. Electrical Code

2006 International Residential Code

2006 International Plumbing Code

2006 International Mechanical Code

2006 International Building Code

2006 International Fire Code

2006 International Existing Building Code

I'm not sure it really matters as even the wording in the IRC seems a bit vague as to whose responsibilty it is. Now if it had said at the property entrance...maybe.