In 2018, ASSE International held 64 product standard working group meetings. By any measure, that is a lot to queue up for a single volunteer committee. The standards have spanned almost all of the product categories we have, such as backflow prevention assemblies, mixing valves, hydrants, air admittance valves, water heaters, and now, water systems devices. ASSE has found a niche of many water systems products where needs have not been met nor defined. We have nimbly moved on those observations.
Below is an overview of our recent water systems development:
ASSE 1086
Reverse Osmosis Water Efficiency for Drinking Water
Reverse osmosis devices are able to treat water so that it has the fewest impurities of any of the commercially available processes. However, the cost of that is to have a return on water use as low as 10 percent (i.e. 10 percent efficiency) in some cases. There are also systems available that are able to process the water with 40-50 percent efficiency or higher. Larger commercial systems will recirculate the water and impurities that did not permeate through the membrane (the concentrate) in order to extract more water. This design is generally not available for residential units, so some low-efficiency systems send up to 90 percent of the concentrate down the drain. ASSE 1086 will help those higher efficiency systems be recognized so that water-conscious homeowners, jurisdictions, and plumbing system designers can easily recognize and select these products.
ASSE 1087
Commercial and Food Service Water Treatment
In other standards, commercial and food service water treatment devices are defined for some applications and undefined in other areas. This new ASSE standard addresses plumbing-related issues with water treatment devices, including flow capacity, backsiphonage for water softeners, water hammer, and the structural integrity of select product categories. One such category that ASSE 1087 covers is water softeners for sizes above 1¼ inch, exactly where NSF/ANSI 44, Cation Exchange Water Softeners, stops. ASSE 1087 also covers commercial systems that are not considered commercial modular – a series of repeated treatment devices installed in parallel to allow for scalability of capacity. All contaminant reduction performance criteria are already defined in the corresponding standards. > Purchase ASSE 1087.
ASSE 1088
Water Softener Regeneration – Brine Reclaim
There are some jurisdictions on the west coast that do not allow water softeners to be installed due to the salt volumes being sent to the drain during regeneration. The accumulation of sodium and potassium is an emerging source of concern with regulators, as there is evidence that it increases the total dissolved solids of both surface and groundwater supplies. Chlorides in the salts also cause significant corrosion problems. This standard defines the minimum performance criteria for devices that take the discharge from the softener and recycle the monovalent brine salt back into the softener’s brine tank.
ASSE 1090
Drinking Water Treatment Device Using Air as a Source
Water conservation continues to be an important role for the plumbing and water treatment industries. As major droughts and deteriorating access to safe drinking water continue to affect countries around the world, new technologies continue to emerge to provide safe drinking water. This system is comprised of a condenser (i.e. vapor compressor), one or more filtration methods, and a process/apparatus for controlling microbial growth. Some devices are designed to be standalone appliances in residences, others are building-integrated systems, and there are outdoor systems for whole houses. Creating a product safety standard to help ensure that these products produce potable water is desired by the water treatment industry.
ASSE 1093 / WSC PAS-97
Pitless Adapters
ASSE International has a new collaboration with the Water Systems Council (WSC), a leader in the well water industry for assisting those who do not have access to municipal water systems. WSC’s Pitless Adapter Standard defines the connection between the groundwater and the cold water supply outlet in the residence, including protection of the groundwater. ASSE is happy to bring this revision forward through our ANSI-accredited process for the benefit of the well water industry.
ASSE LEC 2002
Showerheads with Chloramine Filters
Chlorine-reducing showerheads conforming to NSF/ANSI 177: Shower Filitration Systems –Aesthetic Effects, are well-defined; however, the scope of that standard does not cover chloramine reduction. Chloramine is a typical water treatment disinfectant used by water utility companies as an alternative to chlorination. In some cases, there is an increased potential for skin rashes and breathing issues, especially as monochloramine (what utilities use) changes to dichloromine and trichloromine over time throughout the distribution system. This Listing Evaluation Criteria (LEC) defines the minimum efficacy of chloramine filters for showerheads to prevent such issues. > Purchase ASSE LEC 2002.
With these new standards and LECs, ASSE is creating appropriate definitions for jurisdictions, users, and manufacturers to better understand these new and existing water treatment products.
